{RighT On}

Hey fam!

Sounds like you`ve had a good week. Stomach illness...an awesome dance recital. and eric fogg is home?! que loco! I´ve been doing really well here. We had some incredible experiences this last week. First of all we were teaching the gallardo family...we finished teaching them and started looking around in their neighbors houses. We met an old guy chillin on his porch named simòn. He wasn`t all that interested. But i heard someone playing the guitar in the house...and of course i asked to talk with them. I young guy came out with his wife...newlyweds! golden. Thomàs and caty. We taught them about prophets and the book of mormon. Afterwards thomàs asked us if we sing hymns in our church and he pulled out a little brown hymn book. Elder Chevez said he felt the need to take out his hymn book and show it to them. The guy started reading through the pages and suddenly stopped on one of the pages. He started sight reading and humming the tune in his head. Turns out it was `Mas cerca dios a tì` just my favorite hymn...nearer my god to thee.

His wife suggested that we sing it and thomàs went in to grab his guitar. It was the most incredible thing i`ve ever heard! Turns out Caty is way into singing (she competed against a mormon choir in panama) it was seriously one of the greatest moments of my mission. Wow God leads us to people. We are now working with them on gaining a testimony of the book of mormon. They are so awesome!

That was just one of the many awesome things that happened this week. But, i need to take a second and tell pops happy birthday!!! dad you`re gonna be old! 50 no? that`s more than twice my age! Haha just kiddin. Thanks dad for all you`ve given me. Keep writing about your class every week i`m learning a lot. I love you dad. You really are an example to me and i`ve looked back on the examples of my parents in the tough times and it keeps me going.

And grandpa henrie! Happy birthday to you as well! I honestly am grateful to have such great priesthood holders who have taught me so much in my life.

Right on...one more experience. So we have been getting up at five still sundays to bring people to church. Unfortunately this sunday everything fell through! Nobody came that we were planning. But in my last interview with president madrigal he told me NEVER to show up alone to church...even if it meant inviting someone on the street. So we started searching...we found a family near the familia gallardo. We asked them to come to church with us a the mom, Dora, was stoked! We really saw a lot of blessings this week.

Pray for me and our investigators and panama! Por favor! We are working with another guy named Arnulfo...we`re gonna visit him tonight. Libby...i love you sis...i`m glad to hear your performace was awesome! Marsh...dude. i love you. J dub and jessi i hope all is well. mom, dad, james, love you all.

Love,

Elder Tanner

Mom!

Wow...busy week eh? here as well. I love you mom. Thanks for the emails. I think about you a lot and always talk about our family. Ps everyone still thinks you`re my sister when i show them the photo of our family. and they think grammy is my mom. when i say everyone i mean EVERYONE! haha love ya mom!

Love

Elder Tanner

grammy!

thanks a ton for the news! everything is awesome in santiago! I love my companion and i`m loving training. The mission is incredible and we see miracles daily. Happy belated birthday i love you a ton! Keep up the emails por favor!

Mucho love,

Elder Tanner

{I LOve yoU daD}

Dad!

Dang it...feliz dìa de los padres!!! My bad for not congratulating you last week for being a fahter. I love you dad...you have helped me a ton in my mission. Right now training is a really scary and overwhelming assignment. I don`t feel adequate but if the Lord thinks i can do it i`m set. I feel so lucky to have you as a father. Every time I read the scriptures i notice how much the prophets of the Book of Mormon were affected by the examples that their fathers had given them...it`s hard to write english right now...and i always think of the example that i have grown up with. A faithful priesthood holder in the church who takes out time from work and life to be with his family. I feel so lucky to have a father who is worthy to go to the temple. I am grateful that we have an eternal family. I think only one of my companions has had his parents sealed in the temple. The others have had difficulties with their fathers and haven`t all had the same example as me.

I hope...and I pray that you are staying strong. I love the example you give me every week of a love of the scriptures and the words of the prophets. or profets. My knew comp is awesome dad. I feel like this change is already over! And Eric Fogg is coming home? Huh? That`s crazy! Tell him hey from Panama!

I love you dad!

Love,

Elder Tanner

Mom!

Hey hey!

That`s horrible news about the Thomas family. I hate hearing things like that. We need to always recognize in those moments that we`re not alone. That God is closest to us in these moments. Send them my love and know that i will be praying for them.

No worries about the emails...things are pretty crazy with the schedule here. Things are going nuts here for real. I cannot tell you how much faith my new companion has.. His name is Elder Chevez from Managua, Nicaragua. He`s so rad! We`ve already had some really good experiences here finding and teaching people. From the time that he showed up he`s been contacting like an animal. He loves working! We fasted last Satdurday night and sunday morning so that we would show up to church with an investigator. And what do you know...God blessed us with a family. There an awesome family...extremely humble...los Gallardo. Oh man! The kids...Saul, Daica, Moisès, and Alanis are so rad! There`s no dad in the family but the mom`s name is Leovijilda. Even with several months of Spanish that name is a little tough to say. There sweet though. We`re taking them to a member`s house to eat tonight. Pray for them!

And the husband of an hermana in our branch came to a father`s day activity yesterday! He`s awesome...his name is Arnulfo. We`re going to pass by his house tomorrow night to teach him. Last saturday he said in front of the branch that he could see himself being a member soon. How sweet! I`ve already seen...in only a few days...the blessings of obedience and hard work! I love it! And santiago is awesome!

Time to write dad...no worries i`m sending you and marsh a letter!

Love you mom,

Elder Tanner

{A LeTTer FroM PresiDenT MadriGaL}

PANAMA PANAMA CITY MISSION

March 10, 2010

Elder Tanner Rich Henrie

Dear Elder Henrie:

Thank you for accepting the calling to serve as a new missionary Trainer in the Panama Panama City Mission. This calling has been extended to you after careful consideration and prayer. It is a calling from the Lord, and it will require your very best efforts. You have been called to serve in this capacity because of your good example, your obedience, your diligence, and because of the potential that the Lord sees in you. As you seek guidance from the Lord and work diligently, you will be blessed with the ability to help your companion develop the attributes and skills necessary to become a successful missionary and representative of Jesus Christ.

The position of new missionary Trainer is one of the most important leadership positions in the mission. You have been selected to train a future senior companion and possibly a mission leader. You will need to thoroughly understand and teach the purpose of a missionary, which is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

This mission leadership position requires that you always set a good example, always keeping the commandments of the Church and following the rules of the mission. You will need to be familiar with the guidelines found in the Mission Manual and in Preach My Gospel. As a Trainer it is imperative that you teach correct principles to your new companion, including strict adherence to the daily mission schedule, including individual and companionship study time and planning time. If your new companion needs to learn the Spanish language, you should spend at least one hour per day (from 10:00 to 11:00 am) helping him to develop language skills. Help your companion to gradually increase his participation in teaching the lessons, according to his abilities.

Be patient and understanding with your new companion. Remember when you began your mission and how much there was to learn. Help your companion exercise his faith in calling upon the Lord for guidance and strength in becoming the type of missionary that the Lord expects.

Thank you for your desire to serve the Lord with all of your heart, might, mind, and strength. Thank you for accepting this calling to serve in the mission. The Lord will strengthen you and direct your efforts as you prayerfully carry out this assignment (Joshua 1:1-9; Proverbs 3:5-6). I stand ready to help you in any way I can.

Mannel Madrigal Romero

Presidente de Mision Panama

Carrasquilla, Entrega General 0834, Panamá, República de Panamá – Tel. (507) 213-3180

{LivE iT!}

Bueno,

Elder Abarca had changes. And i`m sticking around to destroy Santiago. They`re not even gonna know. How are ya fam?! Things are looking good for me. Right now i`m sitting by my comp from the MTC, Elder Dangerfield, and my dad, Elder Chicas, and I just talked to Elder Poli. Companion reunion eh? So apparently i`m going to train this change. Kind of ridiculous because i don`t know what`s going on haha but i`m excited. Time for some intense work! We`re having some trouble with our progressing investigators. One of them, Otilia Flores, can`t stop the coffee. She`s awesome though. A middle aged, reeeeeeeeeeally short lady haha. And the other two didn`t come to church this sunday. Time to form the army of mormones again to go and pick people up every sunday morning.

Sorry it`s gotta be short, but i sent a longer one to J Dub haha he can forward it to you. I finished the Book of Mormon on saturday! It`s sweet! I read something interesting about the Holy Ghost this weekend. In the book of Gospel Principles it talks about how the Holy Ghost can testify to us of something...but if we don`t receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost that testimony can be lost. I`m sure of that. Sometimes i feel like i`m waiting for an answer to something that I already know. But i can tell you all that the book of Mormon is true. Live it!

Mom i have a letter i`ve been meaning to send you...forgive me haha. I love you all! I`ll be writing you this coming lunes...that`s monday haha. Cuìdense mucho!

Les quiero,
Elder Tanner

To John WIlliam:

Brother!
Yeah yeah! Sounds sweet about the Book of Mormon! It`s a pretty dang true book! I finished it on June 12!!! It was a really good experience...so i started it again. This time around i`m going to highlight every time it makes a reference to Jesus Christ, His attributes, or His actions. I think it will be a good way to use it to develop Christlike attributes. Thanks a lot for your testimony of the Book of Mormon. I always am telling people that they will be able to grow closer to God by applying its principles more than any other book...and sometimes I forget that the promise applies to me. I really do find a lot of peace in the Book of Mormon.

J Dub...I have to thank you for your mission. I don`t know if you remember...but when me, you, and your comp. (boston) were walking to a dinner appointment and you stopped a man on the sidewalk who was smoking...and you contacted him. It may have been somethign that you were really used to doing in your mission...but that one contact has really made me want to work. When i`m tired and sitting next to someone on a bus...i remember that contact and i talk with people. So thank you. Your mission really has impacted my life bigtime.

The Villareal family is slippery...but the last time we went there there was a teenager that we taught...he was really positive and showed a desire to read the BoM. God knows what he`s doing. He really does look over the entire mission. It`s incredible!

So here`s the news...I`m training! I`m really nervous but i`m excited at the same time. So right now i`m in Arraijan and i`ll be working here for two days until my new companion gets here. I`m worried that i`m not quite prepared for this but I trust God. I`m really excited to work hard this change in Santiago. I hope i`ll be able to give my companion a good example to follow throughout his mission. I am definitely nervous though because i still don`t even know what it means to be a senior companion. I still feel like i`m just walking into the MTC. And at the same time I feel like the mission is almost over! Ay ay ay hombre!!

I hope you`re doing well right now. I love hearing about you and Jess. It`s so sweet to have a brother who is married and another one who`s getting ready to head out on a mission. He`s basically on his mission already. Jeez it goes fast!! I love you a lot bro. Tell Jess I love her and i`ll always be praying for both of you! La iglesia es super verdadera! Cuìdate hermano mìo!

Te quiero,
Elder Tanner

{I doN'T ReGreT AnyThing FroM thiS ChanGE}

Hahahahey!

So, p day. We have destrict reunions every tuesday...so we use internet to write the president after..and apparently our families as well. haha

Seriously that beetle was ridiculous. It sounds like Dad and Lib had a sweet time hanging out this week haha. Lib I can imagine you destroying dad on the Wii! Don´t show him any mercy just because he´s old! (almost 50 haha)

This week has been alright. Our baptismal dates fell but we´re hoping they will still progress and be able to be baptized this month. Our sacrament meeting was really good on sunday. It was such a powerful meeting. Really one of the best i´ve been in for a long time. Hermano Abrego and his wife both gave their testimonies! It was so awesome. And after the meeting they told me that they are making plans to go to the temple by the end of this year! I was so happy to hear it...we´ll just have to really work with the hermano so he can be ready. Unfortunately there have been some problems this past week..but everything will be taken care of.

that was a really good story about the daughter of Brother Taylor. I love how the Lord guides this work! It really is a testimony builder for me to see things like that. The Lord really is in control of every aspect here. He knows which missionaries need to be in companionships together. I´ve learned that this change. God reveals things to the President of the mission and the whole mission really does work on revelation and the faith of the missionaries. If the missionaries have faith, work hard, and are obedient, miracles happen. If not...ya know haha.

This change is winding down. I don´t regret anything really from this past change. I love the members and I feel extremely close to them. They really are really warm to the missionaries. We just started taking the sacrament to the branch president´s wife every sunday (shes extremely sick and can´t come to church). Their family is so humble. They don´t really have money to get her the care they need and I think she really appreciates having the blessings of the sacrament.

Other than that...not much is going on here in Santiago. It´s sweet! I hope all is well in the US of A. I think about you all and I pray for you daily. thank you a ton for your examples for me and for the help through this change.

con mucho amor,

Elder Tanner

Hey grammy!

I just wanted to send you a quick hello! Thanks for keeping me updating with the news and everything. I hope your biking experiences have been awesome. I love my area. I didn´t want to leave my first area but i´ve come to love this one just as much as my first. Things are going pretty well here. There´s a lot of potencial here. I´m really excited to see what happens in the next few months.

I love you a lot grammy and i hope everything is well! Te quiero mucho!

Love,

Elder Tanner

{I loVe All of yOu...MucHísiMo!}

~A beetle I could NOT get off my shoe!~

~Las consecuencias del servicio con machete~

~Me enjoying grandma´s cookies (I know it´s still wrapped i didn´t eat the tinfoil don´t worry)~

Yeah yeah fam!

Hey what´s up! Just hanging out in Santiago trying not to get eaten by crocodiles. Yes theres a crocodile in the river by our house haha...he´s small though. Elder Abarca wanted to jump in and grab it so we could have a pet. I told him to go for it so now we´re looking after our cocodrilo! haha i wish...but really there´s a croc in the river...

This week has been good. I found out I like to eat pig´s feet...mmmm really spicy. They call it sao. But we got kind of some bad news. One of the families in our branch has been having some problems lately. The husband was the president of the branch for seven years but we found out yesterday that he´s got drinking problems...and it´s pretty bad. It was pretty sad to see him come home on Sunday evening when we were talking with his family. His name is Demetrio Abrego. They have a great family and we want to get them to the temple.

We also have a family named Villareal that we are teaching. They are doing pretty well...they´re not married but they except the gospel really well. Things are kind of picking up. Elder Abarca is doing well...i have learned a lot this change with him. We had a long chat Sunday and things are picking up. I see a lot of potencial in him if he can really focus.

So j dub and jess got kicked out huh...bummer haha but i´m glad they´ve got a sweet new place. And dad´s ripped now! Dang! I think i´m going to hit up the gym by our house in the mornings...they have some sweet spin bikes so i´ll be able to burn off some more calories. No worries dad...i´ll still be in bike shape. I just won´t have to bike with the weights on my back when i get home haha.

And marshman is done with school eh. THat´s sweet. Summers good stuff. marsh what will you be doing this summer. I dont know where the question mark is on this keyboard. What. Why. Where. No hay preguntas.

And libby had a violin show at the graveside. How awesome....i miss libby jamming on her violin. I bet you´re getting really good by now huh lib. Haha Bueno...that´s raelly all for this week. Only two more weeks left of this change...

take care.. I love all of you...muchísimo!

Con amor,

Elder Tanner