{I feeL LiKe I JusT StaRTed}

Hey fam!

I love you all! Thanks for all the sweet letters! Im looking forward to changes this week because i think ill be going to get my package in David haha sweet!

Heres the news...

1. Presidente Madrigal is awesome. He came to dedicate a chapel here in Changuinola. Wow the priesthood is real. And hermana Madrigal is incredible too.

2. Our baptism with Erick fell through because there wasnt water to fill the font. Haha. So were doing it next week in the new chapel that was dedicated yesterday.

3. People think dads a grandpa hahaha.

4. I love Panama. But the food...ay ay ay. A veces es dificil. No worries i think im losing weight because i work out so hardcore in the mornings...some solid pushups.

5. The Book of Mormon is true. But thats old news

Im pretty sure i told you all about Francisco Vega...the guy with lots of addictions. We met with him last night and hes doing so well! The gospel changes peoples lives and its sweet to see! I love loving these people. Francisco is so hilarious! I feel like hes my best friend. Ill miss him if I have changes this week. But well see what happens. I think ive been out six months now...which is weird because i feel like i just started.

dad i liked what you said about humility...one of the bigtime important attributes of Christ. The people here are super humble. It makes me feel so greatful to have food and shelter and clothes.

I finished the Book of Mormon this morning and its definitely a sweet book. Everything in this gospel hangs on the B of M . If its true...we are set. and its sooooooooo true!

Sorry so short...but i gotta go. I love you all. A lot. President Hinckley said that missionaries should return home with a greater love for their families. Thats really true. Every day i love you all even more for everything youve given me. The church is true!

Mucho amor,

Elder T

{ObeDience PaYs oFF}

Hey!

Wow, sounds like things are going really well at the house...spring getting started, Marsh dominating the basement, J-Dub and Jessi moving through college, and Libby...starting kindergarten??! That´s weird, pretty sure I was just starting kindergarten. Things are flying here. Elder Poli and I have been so incredibly blessed in this area. At first I wasn´t sure if trying to obey all the rules with exactness really was helping...sometimes it seemed to make things worse. But we´ve seen the fruits of our labor here with Ceferino´s baptism...another baptism this weekend (Erick Sera...he´s way rad), and hopefully the familia Abrego the week after that.

Obedience pays off.

This week was really great. The baptism of Ceferino went really smoothly and according to plan, which really is a miracle in this area haha. Presidente Madrigal was here for the baptism and he and his wife really loved it. Me, Elder Poli, and our district leader Elder Cook sang I Need the Every Hour, a little English and a little Spanish. It was sweet. Music brings the Spirit faster than anything in my opinion. And when Ceferino bore his testimony about the change he has made it made me soooo happy. As Hermana Madrigal said in our last zone conference...´vale la pena´...it´s worth it.

I´m really excited about this investigator we have named Franciso Vega...he´s a middle aged solo guy and he´s got lots of problems. He´s coming toi church and we´re working with him on his drug addiction. All I can say about Franciso is that I love him. Really. I love him. He´s an incredible man and it´s awesome to see the change that is happening in his life because he is coming to know the gospel. I hope with time he can overcome his addiction and receive baptism.

We were hoping this week that the familia Abrego would be baptized but when they came to church we felt like they weren´t ready. That was a bummer but we´re going to continue working with them.

I still am having trouble believing that Libby is going to kindergarten!! That´s so nuts! I´m excited to hear about it. And Lib...you read?! That´s so ridiculous! Haha I love ya sis.

So I´m pretty sure it´s already April...and I think we get to call home in May. Even though I just barely called you from the airport...jeez. ya viene navidad.

The church is true. The gospel is so incredibly powerful. The blessings that come from missionary work are too many to count. I love being a missionary. I can´t even think about what it will be like some day to have to take this plaque off. I love being a missionary and talking about the gospel all day every day! I love you all. I always remember you in my prayers! Make sure you have family home evening and pray...

I´ll talk to you next week!

Mucho amor,

Elder Tanner

ps dad thanks for the update...i wish i had time to study the old testament...i´m going to need to take a class when i get home haha

{He WaS ReaLLy a GolDeN inVestiGatoR}

Hey fam!

Sorry i think i only have time to write one letter this week. I´ve got a lot to say. So this week was a good one. Well...yeah it was. I was pretty sick thursday night...woke up at two with a fever and couldn´t fall back asleep. So the next day we took it easy. But we still went to a lunch appointment and on the way there I contacted this Danish guy. Haha bad idea with a fever of 100. Let´s just say he wasn´t all that receptive. It made me think of Grandpa Hansen because I´m reading his journal. Wow.

But guess what? Ceferino is getting baptized on Saturday!! I can´t wait. He´s definitely ready. He´s 21 years old and he´s been coming to church and all the activities and stuff. he was really a golden investigator. He had no problems really with any of the commandments and was really willing to change.

Also, with respect to the hermana Seferina and her children...let´s just say Satan tries so hard to keep these people from baptism. Someone broke into their house and broke their door...so now she can´t leave the house alone to come to church. I don´t know what we´re going to do but she HAS to come to church to prepare for baptism. Her kids are awesome. they learn the gospel so fast. I love teaching the gospel to kids. There´s this little girl named Kenya at one of the houses we are teaching in...and ever since the first lesson she says ´profeta´ like ninety times every lesson...haha it´s way cute.

And we are teaching this kid named Erick Sera...17 years old. He lives with our branch president right now (he doesn´t really have a family and he´s here studying). But we´re going to set a baptismal date with him soon.

Dad..fecha=farm. There are sooooooooooooooooo many bananas here you wouldn´t even believe it. We climb up this big hill every now and then and you can just see fincas for miles and miles it´s nuts!

Really funny stuff happens all the time here. I love messin around with the little kids. They´re soooo cute. I always think of Lib whenever I see the little girls.Me and Elder Poli have a great time with the people. The members are great. We´re having trouble getting them really animated about missionary work but we´re doing what we can.

Bueno...I love you all a lot. the church is true. There was a kid who bore his testimony in church yesterday about how he was sealed to his family...he´s 12. It was such a powerful testimony. I thought when Libby was sealed to us. never will I forget that experience. I love you all. Marsh keep reading the scriptures. Mom I talk about you and the fam a lot to the people here. Dad keep telling me about your lessons in gospel doctrine i get good pointers and advice. J dub and Jess I love you both a lot! I´m gonna write you a letter today because there´s never time :) Lib...you have no idea how much I love you.

I´m bummed that I may only have three more weeks here in Empalme...but it´s all good.

Con mucho amor,

Elder Henrie

ps the package got here but it´s in David hahaha I´ll go pick it up in May though no worries :) oh and no we don´t have a chapel in El Empalme, but our little building is sweet! Chao!

{I LoveD CoNfErenCe!}

Hey fam!

Wow...Elder Holland delivered once again eh? Third time in a row. I loved conference! we actually stayed in Bocas to watch it because the new chapel that they are building their managed to get it through satelite. It was sweet! They focused so much on the family. I was amazed when at the very end Elder Andersen said that nobody receives assigned topics. Talk about revelation.

I loved hearing the prophets voice again! It was so nice to listen to them give their messages...and it was amazing listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir again (you know youre a missionary when youre excited for mo-tab). I thought Elder Packers talk about blessings was probably my favorite...after Elder Holland.

Marsh did you hear the prophet talk about dating? Its good advice...stick to it. And get ready to go on a mission because you will be on your way to the MTC pronto. I thought about all of you during this conference. I feel blessed to have the family that I have. I was so glad when Elder Holland was talking about what happened to those three ladies that he met in the airport that our family is not like that.

Ok so this week...we set a baptismal date with a kid named Ceferino. Hes 20 years old and really solid. But we can see that Satan does NOT want people to make this covenant with God. Immediately after he accepted to be baptized...his mom started joking about how we dont eat meat or drink coffee. Ay ay ay. But hes doing great.

We also set a date with an Hermana named Seferina (no relation to Ceferino) and her four kids. We are really hoping that she can progress. Shes having some difficulties with these two men that want to move into her house but we taught her the law of chastity and we are praying that all goes well.

This change is still going quick. There is never enough time. Its really hard work too. That makes it go even faster. I dont know how we already are in April!

Well family...the church is true. Really. Its true. Thomas S. Monson is Gods chosen prophet on the earth today. I have no doubt that we are going to be together forever. Everything that we go through in this life makes us stronger. The strength I have received from making it through the loss of a brother has helped me a lot...but we havent lost him have we? Hes waiting for us on the other side. Mom did you love that story about how that kid opened his mission call a week before his brother died. -called to serve on both sides of the veil- i thought it was great. I know God lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior. Joseph Smith saw Him and the Father in the sacred grove. The Book of Mormon is true. And its awesome. I love you all more than youll ever know. I am so glad i am on a mission right now! It is the best decision i have ever made in my life! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Tanner

ps yeah dad i got the picture and i could NOT find waldo!

Hey Grammy and Grandpa!

I absolutely loved conference. Before it started we were all watching the timer like it was new years haha. It was amazing. Thats great that Matt headed off to Brazil! I cant believe hes on his mission already. Yikes. Everything is great in El Empalme. The people, the food (yes i am getting a gut), and the faith. I love the people. It is crazy to think that i have over three months here. It feels like i got here yesterday!

The church is great. We had 73 people come last sunday (a step up from the 28 that showed up the first sunday of my second change). i am still trying to figure out how to be a better missionary. Gotta do it quick because the mission flies by. But one thing that my MTC teacher told us is that you never -make it- as a missionary. You can always improve.

Thanks for the email i love you a lot! The church is true God loves us!

Mucho amor,
Elder Tanner

{ThiS WeeK RocKED. ThAt'S aLL TheRe iS tO iT.}

Dearest mother,

This week rocked. That´s all there is to it. I´m still loving Empalme a lot! We had 73 people at church yesterday!!!! Yes! And Emiliano showed up looking like a stud. It was incredible.

Ok two experiences to share. Me and Elder Poli were contacting this guy in the street towards the end of the night and I saw a family across the street. Elder Poli was talking to him and I felt like I needed to go talk to this family...ya know...that feeling. So I when up and contacted them and we set up an appointment (this was last change). And a couple nights ago we taught them...the familia Jimenez...about the plan of salvation. The man, Luis, had lots of questions about the spirit world and people that haven´t had the chance to hear the gospel. A little while later in the lesson he started crying. His brother had passed away less than three months ago. Luis told us how his brother was going to come up for christmas but he never made it. I then realized why I was supposed to stay in El Empalme. I remembered where we were all at three months after James´ death and I told him about James. I could really feel the pain that he was in and we all cried together. We´re really hoping that we can get them to church as a family and get them progressing. It was a very special experince.

Ok, so we were walking to Finca 4 in our area when we saw a little neighborhood on the right side of the street and we were feeling it. We found a young joven in his house. This family literally had nothing. The kid´s name is Germán, 24 years old. He was baptized when he was 16 but hasn´t come to church for years. He cried as he told us what he´s been going through and how hard his life is right now. He´s been bed ridden for two months and they hardly have any food. That day they were waiting for two other pastors from a different church but we showed up instead...what a coincidence. Anyway, we gave fim a blessing and he came to church yesterday. It´s awesome to see what the gospel does for people. He´s still got a lot of things he needs help with in his life but i´ll be praying hard for him.

So it was a good week! Oh and ps we can´t go to Costa Rica anymore hahaha. I called up Presidente after i emailed y´all and apparently that´s bad. So...ya no. But no worries he wasn´t mad with me :)

Maui? What? haha well i´m in Panama so take that.

And what a cool story about those missionaries!

Love you all!

Mucho amor,m

Elder Tan

My awesome siblings!

Libster thanks for the sweet email! I want to see a picture of your long hair! Did you get the birthday package yet? I hope so :) just wanted to wish you a VERY happy birthday from down here in panama! Are you really 5 years old? jeez that´s huge. Don´t grow up too much before i get home lib. I love you a lot and i miss ya! I hope your birthday is as good as mine was. I´ll be praying for you.

Love ya lib!

-elder Tan

Hey dad i´ve only got a couple minutes left...i just wanted to thank you for the letter. Every week i get so pumped after hearing from the family! It really does get me ready for the week. Ps we´re going to David this week to hear the profeta and the apostoles give us the word! I´m soooooooo excited! How lucky are we to have a living prophet.

I love you dad!

Elder Tan

{He´S cHanGiNg So MucH}

Hey hey!

Alright....so I asked my district leader when we were over there if it was against the rules and he told us it was fine. And we talked to the migrations people also so I wasn´t under the impression that we were breaking any rules. So we were over there for about 20 minutes and came back. It was actually really lame as there was nothing over there. And I´m trying to be obedient 100 percent with every rule (my last comp told me that I was too obedient haha)...and I searched the rules thoughouly to see if I could send a video home to all of you. The rules say don´t have cameras in public while you´re proselyting...and it didn´t say anything about videos. Trust me i´m not wanting to get sent home for blowing it on a rule. But i´ll write Presidente Madrigal about it to clear it up with him and make sure we´re good. That´s what i always do when i have an interview...ask him about questions i have with rules...

This weekend we had a baptism with Emiliano because I got to stay in El Empalme with Elder Poli! It was such a great experience. Afterwards he stood up and bore his testimony about Joseph Smith and the church...it was so incredible! Seeing the change that he made has been so amazing! And we had some great lessons taking Cecilio out with us yesterday. He bore his testimony way powerfully about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He´s changing so much.

This coming month we want to work for 3 baptisms. And we´re going to try to get 75 people to church! It´s going to be a lot of work but i´m really excited for it! I´m glad i´ve got six more months here in El Empalme. And i can´t believe i´ll be 20 tomorrow! Crazy!

Thanks to all for the emails :) maybe if you sent letters they´ll get here this change hahaha we´ll see! I love you all! I love this Gospel. I love testifying to people about the changes and the happiness that this Gospel can bring. Thank you all for all the support!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Tanner

ps we´re teaching a guy named José Smith! haha he´s really positive!

{I'M ReaLLy SaD AboUT TuCK}

I´m really sad about Tuck. He was such a great friend. I wasn´t really expecting to see him again but it´s still hard. I know he and James are going to have a great reunion though. I´m just chillin here crying at the computer in the middle of nowhere hahaha i feel dumb. I hope you´re all good there. I´ll miss him a lot. I´m gonna have to work super gnarley this week to quit this feelings.

Mom and dad thanks a million for the letters! I love hearing from you! Seriously it recharges me every week. PS no we don´t have daylight savings. And i´m so excited for Matt! He´s gonna be on the team soon! The MTC is nuts. I´ll never be able to describe my experience there. haha it was so much fun...at times i miss it...just because it was so dang easy compared to the mission field. But he´s going to love it. Tell Matt that I´m wishing him the best of luck in every aspect of the mission, the language, the studying, the working. And tell him to ENJOY the washers and dryers in the MTC.

I´m actually surprised my letter made it to you that fast. Tell Libby i sent her a sweet birthday present that I bought from a little old lady by Costa Rica. Yes we went to Costa Rica last week. It´s not all that tough...you just walk across the bridge and you´re in Costa Rica.

Last night we had a sweet lesson with this awesome family! The wife is Cindy she´s a member, and her husbands name is Julio. He saw an Anti Mormon video recently and he had some questions. But we did already in focusing on the doctines. They´re a sweet fam. I hope I don´t get transferred this week because i´ll miss Emiliano´s baptism (This saturday) and i won´t get to work with this fam. We´re going through the jungle again today, but we´re bringing Emiliano! Sweet! Oh and we had 48 people at church yesterday! Awesome!

Mucho amor,

Elder Tanner

oh and yes i can print emails haha my bad

{EXPerienCes THaT i´ll NEveR FoRGeT}

Hey Hey!

Alright...no i can´t print the emails here. The weather is really cool right now. It´s raining a TON! We got soaked the other day and my leather belt bled through my pants and ruined my garments...oops. Yes i´m still loving the coconuts when i have the chance to eat them. But this week we got a tasty dish of cow stomach haha it was gross.

We were eating con los Valdez, and we asked her what we were eating (because it was gross)...and she said it was part of a cow. So we decided to finish eating before asking her what part haha. It really was gross.

Did I tell you I lost the keys to the house too? But don´t worry because they were the original. So the owner came over, they bent the bars on the window, stuck a kid through the window to unlock the door, changed the lock on the door, and two hours later it was all good. That was a funny day!

Oh and I almost got eaten by a dog this week! That thing was huge! We were standing in front of this house waiting for them to come out and this thing came runnin at us! Luckily it´s chain pulled it back just in time. Hahaha that really was one of the few times i´ve been pretty scared on the mission!

My tooth is great I promise! Really no worries there. I´m not really using it to chew at all.

The mission is still sweet! The time goes by ridiculously fast but i´m enjoying it.

Yesterday we got up at 5 in the morning to call people in the branch and have them go out and pick up less active members, investigators, and recent converts. But don´t worry, the assistance only DOUBLED this week at church!!! Last week it was at 32, and this week 64! God really blessed us. It was sweet!!! We´re hoping to keep up this assistance.

And we set a baptismal date with a joven named Emiliano!! For the 20 of this month! He´s way cool...he´s 17 i think. He´s reading his Book of Mormon every day, comin to church, and praying. He´s such a great kid! I might not be here for the baptism if i get transferred but i´m way excited for him! His personality has changed a lot since we started meeting with him. I really love him a lot.

We´re also meeting with an older couple, they´re called Elba y Victoriano. Elba studies her book of mormon more than most mormons do haha. SHe´s way awesome. And Victoriano is just awesome, he speaks english fairly well too. They´re a sweet couple, in their 70´s i think. The problem is that we can´t get them to church...but we´ve talked about baptism with them as well.

We had some appointments with members this week. All i´m gonna say is that you have to be careful when you have lessons with members. Sometimes false doctrines get goin, talk about the temple and baptisms for the dead, the Santa Cena, haha oh man. But it was a great week no worries!

Everything is going well here. We´re headed out to the border today for P-Day...should be sweet! The spanish is still comin along and the members of our branch are really starting to work with us.

I love you all. The church is true. My testimony continues to grow every day working with these incredible people in this little branch of empalme. I´ve already had experiences that i´ll never forget. Bearing testimony that Christ has restored his church once again and that people can have eternal families is incredible. You all have to keep praying every night as a family. Please! Please don´t stop! Families are being destroyed here. There are so many problems with the law of chastity, alcohol, and just tons of difficulties going on with so many people. And its all because they don´t have the gospel, or if they don´t have it they don´t live it. And have family home evenings!!!

The church is soooo true! Les extraño mucho y les amo más...nunca voy a olvidarles en mis oraciones. Siga adelante!

Mucho amor,
Elder Tanner
ps the mission rocks!

Letter #2:

Wow mom.
All i can say is thank you for everything. Tell Devan Woodruff that i love him and that he absolutely CANNOT miss this experience! And that story about Ryan was pretty awesome. I´ve seen a lot of people that I know are gonig to be so relieved when they meet the Savior. Mom, God lives. Jesus Christ really is our Savior. This life is incredibly short, and we have to prepare. Our family is so rock solid i love it. I was studying charity this week and trying to thing of a bad thing that i had heard dad say about someone. I though all week and i couldn´t think of anything! And i always think about how well you´ve

taught me...just like the sons of helaman were taught by their mothers. I´m going to read the book of mormon in spanish by june 12 this year! One of my goals....

Love you mom! Stay strong. Know that I think about you a lot. But i´m focusing on the work. I love you a ton! Tell libby that she needs to practice violin a lot. And tell marsh that i´m excited to get by butt kicked by him in basketball when I get back haha.

Te amo mucho,
Elder Your Son

ps am i turning 20 this month? haha what happened?

{A LeTTer to TannER frOM GraMMy}

Dear Elder Tanner,

I love reading your letters posted on your blog as you sound so happy. Bob and I can tell you are working hard (as we always expected you would) and we are sure that helps to keep you happy. We pray for your safety, success and happiness. Though I miss you, I know you are in the right place. I loved seeing the picture of your new mission president in the Church News. He is from Huntington Beach. Your mom has sent you their picture, I think.

This is some of the family news:

· Ruthanne turned 50 last week. We had a wonderful time dinner here with your mom and dad and your uncles and aunts. Each one of her siblings gave a tribute to her, organized by your mom. It was a sweet evening.

· Jackson’s have had a trip (two weeks ago) to Hawaii. I tended their dog, Millie. That was an unforgettable experience (tending the dog, I mean).

· Matt continues to prepare for his mission. His Sacrament Service talk is on March 21^st. He doesn’t have his Brazilian Visa yet. Bob’s grandson Nate has arrived this week in Brazil to begin his mission.

· Lyssa and Rees await the arrival of a new dog---a medium sized Golden Doodle.

· Kent and Heather, Lyssa and Rees are preparing for another big bike ride through Southern Utah Mountains in May. They will be riding 3 days. I am hoping to go one day with them. If I can get myself ready I will ride from Fishlake down into Loa---about 30 miles. Bob will drive the car behind me for “insurance”.

· Bob and I went to a program of music last week in Provo. There was a Cory Christiansen on guitar. He is apparently quite well known among guitar circles and I wondered if he is someone you know of. He was very good.

· Marshall continues to tear up the basketball floor. I have seen several of his games and he is tenacious.

· Libby is really doing well on her violin. Erin told me yesterday that Libby will play with other students in a concert in the Conference Center. That is pretty impressive.

· Will remembers you often and speaks of his friendship with you. You are a great example to him and to all the other cousins.

· J.W. and Jessi continue to do good things. Jessi will sing at my ward Sacrament Service in March . I am eagerly looking forward to it.

Other news:

• BYU is tied with New Mexico for the lead in the Mountain West basketball conference. Utah (sadly) is about 5^th.

• The Utah Jazz are in a winning streak.

• United States took a record number of medals (37) in the winter Olympics, which just ended in Vancouver British Columbia yesterday.

• Our weather is starting to warm, but still brisk. Spring is a few weeks away, I think. I am going to try to fit a ski day in before the snow melts.

I love you, dearly. I know that what you are doing is The Lord’s plan for you; I know the Gospel is true and that we are lead by a Prophet,

Stay cool. Be happy. Brush your teeth (advice given in honor of Grandpa Hansen) and say your prayers.

Deepest Love, Grammy

{ I´M fuLL BloOD PaNaMEño}

Hey all!

Yeah dad Almirante was sweet! This week was really incredible too. I´ll try my best to get all the questions answered here...

Our branch is pretty close to our house...in El Empalme...but there are a few members in Silencio. Finca means farm. The banana farms here are nuts! They go on for miles. Almost all the men in El Empalme work in the banana farms. Or taxis. But the taxistas don´t have much work. It´s tough right now for them. I think the river is just called Rio de Changuinola or somethin like that.

Cecilio did make it to the temple! I think their work sixty people in our district that entered in. And one hermana in our rama went in to take out her endowments for the first time! Cecilio loved it!

We have zone conferences every change. For that, i´m in David right now...we had a five hour bus ride this morning, conference tomorrow, and than head back tomorrow night. Don´t really do a lot of splits with other missionaries still but maybe when i´m in a larger district. Our district covers a pretty broad area but there aren´t that many active members.

The milks weird here but i´m liking it. The cereals normal, frosted flakes...mmmmm.

Alright. Mom are you sure that wasn´t you and libby in that photo you sent? haha how sweet was that?! I hope all is well mom. Don´t worry too much about sending stuff for my birthday...i don´t think it will get here until around christmas. Hahaha no but i think it would take about a month to get a package here. But i can´t think of anything i need. (unless you want to send deodorant so i don´t have to buy it...it´s like three bucks! is it that much in the states?)

Yeah i´m full blood panameño now...i love it here. The food rocks!

Quick story...last saturday we had a baptismal date fall through. Apparently Adayana was living with someone and we were unaware haha oops. And than we headed back to the apartment to hang out there for the night (in the bathroom haha) sunday was good . i love being able to tell people that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and testify in his name. It´s powerful stuff.

Love you all no time left! Have a good week!

To Libby:

Hola!
Hey Lib! Thanks for the email! Yeah valentines was great here! We worked especially hard that day ;) that´s sweet that you got a new zhou zhou pet...i´m really jealous. I´m going to try to send you something for your birthday so i hope it gets to you in time! Love you lib!

{I HaVe BeeN BleSSed}

Word up!

This week was sweet! We had changes...elder chicas got sent to San Miguelito by Panama. I was pretty bummed that he left but he´s doing well i hear. My new comp is Elder Poli...from Missouri. Get this...Ricki Gallagher served in his ward when he was on his mission! Small world eh? He´s really cool though...his parents are from Samoa. He´s a really obedient missionary so we´re going to have the Spirit with us which is really the most important thing.

While I was waiting for Elder Poli to get here...i went to Almirante with elder stoddard. That area is reeeeeeally poor. The people there literally have nothing. It was a great experience to go down there for a couple of days and teach with him. One morning with him we decided we were going to focus on contacting people asking them if they knew why they were here on this earth and what there purpose is...after contacting ALL day...the very last contact that we did....this kid said that he had been wondering why he was here and what his purpose was. Haha incredible!

We were going to have a baptism two days ago with a lady named Adayana but we didn´t feel like she was ready so were putting it off a bit. I think about her constantly. She has two kids and the gospel would be incredible in her life. The problem is that she´s really shy and doesn´t have any friends in our branch...but we´re working on it.

Cecilio came out to work with us yesterday! It was sweet! I think it was really good for him and he is pumped about missionary work now. He´s going to the temple this week to do baptisms for the dead! I can´t tell you how happy I am! I think that will help him stay faithful. One of the ways that people can really stay faithful is tithing...but seeing as how Cecilio doesn´t make any money and is searching for work...i think the temple will be just as helpful.

Yesterday at church was a little rough. The assistance was really bad (only 27 showed up) but were praying a lot and trying to work with the members to help people get back to church.

Oh and I forgot to tell you about this guy named Chalo. He´s about 50 years old and we got him to quit smoking! It´s sweet...he still has some other problems and isn´t really progressing much, but we´re probably going to keep going with him and see what happens. We ran into a guy that lives at Chalo´s house yesterday and it was one of the sadder moments on the mission. He was really drunk and stopped us to talk with us. He started crying and just kept saying help me, help me, I want to change. It´s so hard to see things like that. Drinking is a huge problem here...satan´s working just as hard as we are.

This week is the Carnaval...a big party of some sort...so we have to be in the house a little early the next couple nights. I´m kind of bummed because we had some sweet family home evenings set up but...it´s all good.

It was a good week! And yes dad...i didn´t even know it was valentine´s day until i got to church haha.

Day to day activities eh? Bueno, we usually eat cereal and or oranges for breakfast (one of our investigators gives us oranges like you wouldn´t believe) and study for the normal amount of time. We eat with members every day for lunch and dinner...that´s how empalme is i guess. It´s awesome. And basically, it´s rice, rice and more rice, and sometimes some chicken. I can punish any amount of rice that you put before me it´s incredible. We do a lot of teaching here...sometimes up to 10 lessons a day. We teach a lot in the park by our house i really like that. We´re trying to find things to do that are more creative that can help investigators. So ask j dub if he´s got ideas...i know he does.

I love you all a lot. Every day I can even tell you how much I realize I have been blessed in my life. Our family is so incredible. Be grateful. Keep praying together every night! that´s what we try to get less active families to do every day...pray together. And keep having family home evening...go to the temple as much as you can because you´ve got one right next to you :)

Dad it´s been cool hearing about you´re Gospel Doctrine class. It´s so hard to study everything I want to here...because we only get one hour of personal study in the morning....and it´s focused on investigators. But i´m learning a lot from it. One hour for sure is way too short haha.

Stay strong fam! I love you all and pray for you nightly. And Elder Poli prays for you as well. I hope all is well. The times still flyin here. I´m basically done with my mission haha that´s what it feels like sometimes. It scares me how fast some weeks go. Muuuucho amor!

Os amo, (is that correct, no sé)
Elder Tanner

ps how sweet is that that there´s a sister tan in your ward?! Did you tell her that you have a son named Elder Tan?

Hola mamá!

Just wanted to tell you I love you! I´ve got three minutes and i wanted to let you know that i´ve been thinking about those times in the morning before I left to work when we´d have chats about the gospel. It strengthened my testimony a lot. I hope that everything is well and that you are happy. I´ll keep praying for ya!

Te amo mucho,
Elder Your Son

{I'M NoT PerFeCt But I'm TryiNG}

Hey family!

This week has been pretty nuts. But i´ll start with the questions dad no worries:

1. My health and my tooth are fine. I´m using my filter for water and it´s all good here.
2. I haven´t heard anything about malaria or prevention we just use repellent
3. Sweet about the ATM card...i don´t really spend that much money on stuff here but yeah i think you can just send it to the mission home.
4. My address is the following, the mails pretty slow though haha:

Misión Panamá Carrasquilla
A.P. 0834 Entrege General
Panamá, Panamá

5. nope i´m not getting transferred this week. I´m still in empalme but elder chicas left...so i have to wait until thursday until my next comp gets here. In the meantime i´m with Elder Stoddard, another Gringo. ha he´s way cool.
6. No i don´t need anything i´m on a mission :) just that you all keep praying as a family and having family home evenings!
7. Of course i´ll write every week! It´s my favorite thirty minutes of the week!

Right now i´m pretty nervous about getting a new companion...i´ll have to take him around the area until he´s used to it...but we´ll see what happens...and i´m pretty sure i can´t be a senior comp yet because of the spanish issue...i can pretty much get around with spanish though it´s all good.

Guess what?! On the way home from church yesterday we were talking to cecilio about serving a mission...and i asked him if he would like that. He said ´¡muchísimo!´ haha (a lot). He´s read up to page 55 in the BOM! Now we just gotta help him pay tithing..which is tough because he hardly has work and food. But yesterday he was ready on time for the first time...with a shirt and tie! Sweet!

There´s this other joven here named javier...he´s awesome. 21 years old and he wants to change his life. I love the teenagers here! We´re really focusing on families and priesthood here. I´m lovin it.

I think about you all the time fam...the homesickness is gone but i just want you all to know that i love you. I feel blessed to have the family that i have...there really aren´t any families like ours here in empalme. Only a few. It´s so hard! But yeah give thanks for our family and the things that we have every day. There are plenty of things that are hard here but all i have to do is go to someone elses house and i feel like we get treated like kings here. Some people have nothing!

Another great experience we had was giving another blessing to a little girl named wendy...she´s less than one year old and we´re teaching her father...virigilio. Not sure if he´s going to progress but wow it was great.

Oh ps i had to go to panama this week for migrations. 12 hours there...three hours to get a photo taken...and 12 hours back haha that was fun. But don´t worry i had lots of time to teach on the bus.

I love you all so much. I´m working here dont worry...i´m not perfect but i´m trying. I love it. I absolutely love it here! It´s so hard but it´s the best thing i´ve ever done in my life. Its constantly a battle here every day. My testimony has grown more than i would have ever imagined or thought possible. I love it. Thanks for all! Until next week!

Con amor,
Elder Tanner

Hey mom!

Just wanted to shoot you a quick hello! Everythings good here...thanks for the email! I love you a lot! Stay strong as a family! You´re all incredible...the mission is great and it just keeps getting better.

I got the brothers around the world thing but without a lot of time to read it all but it was sweet! Gotta go!

Te amo,
Elder Tanner

{All iS WeLL}

Hey all!
This week was incredible! The baptism went really well and now some of Cecilio´s family members are talking about coming to church! He was so happy and content after being baptized! Wow what an experience. I also had some sweet experiences with the priesthood this week...we blessed a little girl name Paola who had a really bad fever and we also blessed one of the missionaries in our district...it´s amazing what can happen through faith. And one of our investigators...Adayana Dixon...came to church yesterday with her two kids and she said she´s coming next week! She´s got a baptismal date set for the 13 of February so we´ll see what happens.

Our area is so sweet...we have about 45 to 50 people that come to church every week (i think there´s roughly 200 inactive members in our branch) and the weather is actually not bad here at all. Especially this past week it´s been way nice.

Mom that´s awesome that you were in newport...did you see the elders from my MTC district? haha. And marsh thats great about your games i´m glad they went well! Sounds like everything´s going well with the fam!

Today we went on a three hour trek through the jungle to see the beach. It took us an hour and a half to get there...we sat there, took pictures, and left. Haha it was way fun though...there were quite a few monkeys hanging out in the trees on the way there. Probably the craziest day on the mission so far haha.

I can´t believe this change is almost up! It flew by...i think i´ll be getting transfered because there is another elder who´s coming to Empalme this next change...we´ll see though. I don´t really want to leave this area to be honest but whatever happens happens. We´re going to do everything we can this week to have success...i´m way excited! All is well haha.

Much love,
Elder Tanner

{I CaN't WaiT!}

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all the emails...it sounds like all is going great! We had a sweet experience two days ago...we went to Cecilio´s house to talk about his baptism. We were going to tell him that we wouldn´t be able to baptize him because he would be moving soon. It was a pretty rough situation. So when we got there and started talking about it he let us know that if only he could get a new pair of shoes he could stay here for schooling. Sweet! Elder Chicas had a pair of shoes that he gave to him and we´re all set for this saturday! We were going to baptize him in the river but our branch president figured it would be better if we went to the chapel in Changuinola. I can´t wait! I´ve never baptized anyone before, let alone in Spanish haha i´ll need to practice...

Cecilio is so humble. He´s sixteen years old...doesn´t have a mother or father...and hardly any money. Yesterday on the way to church we asked him what he had for breakfast and he told us that there wasn´t food at his house right now. So after church we brought him over to our house for sandwiches. He´s so awesome!

The people here are so humble and so nice. There are definitely hard times and there are people who want nothing to do with us but there´s always people waiting to hear the gospel.

oh yeah my tooth...haha. It´s all good. We called the mission president to find a doctor who could take the stitches out and we managed to make our way to a local clinic. It went fine and it was free (so you know it´s good) but seriously all is well.

I´m loving it here. Still trying hard to be effective...there´s so much to do every day it´s a bit overwhelming at times. But you just have to keep working at it. There are so many good people here...wow.

Dad that´s good that everything got settled at work...yikes, eh? I hope this week goes better for ya haha. oh and apparently you know the father of one of the elders in my zone..his name is Doctor Mark Johnson..works at health south. His son Derek Johnson and I were in the same grade at Brighton...

Have a great week everyone!

Con mucho amor,
Elder Tanner

pps could you tell my grandparents that i´m allowed to email them as well...mission rules :)

{FoRgettiNG MySelF}

Hola a todos!

Panama still rocks my world! Every day somethin crazy happens here. This week was a little tough not gonna lie. I had a little wave of homesickness (but just because my family is awesome)...but we worked really hard to get through that. ¨there´s no substitute for work¨ -Ezra taft benson. My companion is awesome...he helps me through all the rough times.

I´m starting to understand stuff a lot better here. Which is sweet because i LOVE talking to people! Everyone rocks. The only problem is that the door is always open at every house...but no one is serious about changing. We have to find some 30 investigators to have one serious investigator. So that´s what we do! 30 lessons a week yo!

Marshman thanks for your email last week brother...that sounds like a sweet trip planned for the summer. A great experience for sure! Sounds like you´re having a great time at Albion (you´re not at brighton yet right? haha) with basketball and such.

And mom that´s awesome about Jesse comin´home...Tell him hey from his brother in Panama! (that´s me) I´m jealous that you got to eat out five times in three days. But you´ll be jealous to know that we´ve had this gnarley dead centipede thing chillin in our room and i´m going to eat it for breakfast tomorrow! Mmmmm.

We´ve had three baptisms set up for this month...but we´re not going to baptize two of them (leonardo and cecilio) because we´re thinking they´ll go inactive. They´re moving away soon so we´re thinking it´s best to let them continue learning. The other investigator that we´re really hoping get´s baptized is Nelson Serrano. He´s way incredible and his family is pretty solid in the church.

That´s pretty much it for this week...I could use your prayers for sure right now. I´m still lovin it and i´m really working on forgetting about myself here. I love the people! Oh man they´re so amazing!

Con mucho amor (claro),
Elder Tanner

{I LoVE You MoM}

Mom!
¡Feliz cumpliaños! Happy Birthday! That´s crazy that you´re turning 39! Again! I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and hope you have an incredible birthday...i will keep praying for you and the family every day. I know everything will be taken care of with all of you while i´m gone so i´m not worried. God provides.

I love you mom... thanks for everything. Thanks for all the good times. I´ll work hard here don´t worry. And yes i will use insect repellant. The bugs are vicious...and they really like the way I taste for some reason. Must be the Gringo blood. Te amo mamá...yo quiero que tu tengas un cumpliaños increíble! Don´t let anyone who speaks Spanish read that because it might be really bad spanish hahaha. All is well here!

Con amor,
Elder your son.

{MiraCLeS EveRY DaY}

Right on fam!

So yes i´m in the jungle. As for your questions:
1. My address is:


Misión Panamá Carrasquilla
A.P. 0834 Entrege General
Panamá, Panamá

2 and 3...don´t know right now but remind me next week

4. I have only a visa card...not the ATM. But they gave me an ATM card for taking out money when I got here (the mission gave me a card, it´s not the one we got) so i still don´t have the one that we got.

5. I´m headed to a dentist this week, possibly in Panama if there´s no one here or in David.

And i´m pretty sure it´s summer here...that is what i hear anyway. There´s not much rain (apparently gnarley downpours don´t count as a lot of rain). Our area is sweet though! Everyone is so nice...everyone calls each other hermano and hermana...all family. I love it! We´re teaching tons of lessons but having trouble with committments. Everyone wants to listen but it´s tough to help them see the importance of change. But it´s great here.

My companion is Elder Chicas...from El Salvador. He´s hard working, really is trying to learn english, and teaches me a ton every day. He´s been a convert for about three or four years now (he´s 26). His father committed suicide 5 years ago and his mom and brother are now in El Salvador. He´s a great comp. He´s an incredible teacher as well.

There are other missionaries nearby (six in our district) but for the next change they are bringing a zone to Empalme! That should be sweet!

It is definitely hard work hear. Lots of people try to tear down what you believe and a lot of people aren´t interested. But it´s always worth it.

I´ve had lots of incredible experiences here already. Miracles every day. We were lost a few days ago looking for a really promising investigator named Gregory...it was raining, we were late, so we prayed. Literally five seconds later, there he was standing outside in the rain waiting to hear the plan of salvation. It was amazing! And whenever I pray for the ability to testify of Joseph Smith, God gives me the gift of tongues. Every time!

Sorry I don´t have much time left..J-dub and marsh thanks for the emails...send me more :) i don´t have time to reply now but i will next week! Ps j dub that handlebar stash is gonna rock at the derby!

I can´t believe so many people are comin home from their missions already! Time really does fly it´s nuts! I´ve already been here two weeks...it´s so crazy! The spanish is coming very slowly. Still pretty frustrating at times but it´s all good...it will come.

We´re trying to find a family this week to teach...we´re praying hard and working hard. We´re gonna do it!

Thanks for everything I love you all a ton!

Con amor,
Elder Tanner

{ALriGHt LeT's Do ThiS}

Oooe!
A lot of times the panameños just make funny noises for greetings haha it´s way funny. My favorite greeting is ´buenas´ though. Kind of like buenas dias, tardes, etc.

Alright let´s do this. Landed in panamá and got to the mission presidents house at like 1130 at night and ate pizza. The next day we got up, went to the temple for pictures, had our interviews and got assigned comps. my interview went well...even though they forgot to teach me Spanish at the MTC. Presidente Madrigal is awesome. He told me about some of the problems here, like chasity, word of wisdom, and a few others.

My comp. wasn´t there when we were assigned because my area was so far away from Panama (once you´re in panama, panama=panama city), i´m completely accross the country. So we waited three hours to get bus tickets, took an eightish hour bus ride to David, and then got up the next day for a five or six hour ride through the jungle to Empalme. It´s the farthest area away from panama. Kinda nuts. Our house is sweet! Usually we have water and we have an awesome washing machine! But the water is so ridiculously cold! It´s good for waking up in the morning. And when we don´t have water we´ve got a bucket so it´s all good. Lots of lizards and even more mosquitos.

I had a great second day in Empalme...you should have seen me chop a coconut in half with a machete. It didn´t taste good but it was sweet! The food is good...but i´ve learned one thing here, never tell a panamanian that you can eat a lot. Because they will try to kill you with rice! Oh man, soooooooo much rice here! It´s nuts!

We had one of those ¨which way should we turn¨ moments the other day. And I was feelin left. So we went left and found Hermana Nohely. I´m hoping more than anything that she will be baptized she´s so amazing! Our first lesson with her was incredible. The spirit is so strong always during the first vision. And yesterday she said she would prepare to be baptized! But one of the problems here is that people are so casual about commitments. Everyone says they´ll come to church, be baptized, everything. But nobody wants to change. so we´re working really hard to help them.

Not gonna lie, it´s almost like everyone is speaking Spanish here, because i can´t understand it. They talk so fast! One moment someone will tell me I speak well, and then i´ll be proud of myself, and then the next person I talk to looks at me like I´m an idiot. Haha.

I love it here. The people have nothing, but they´re so happy. The kids are incredible! There´s this boy and girl here that I love so much...the boy´s name is Diego and the girl is María de los ángeles. Diego is seven and María is four (Libby she reminds me so much of you!) Their father is the branch president and they´re just an awesome fam!

I´m gonna try and attach a picture to this so hopefully it works. Nevermind it doesn´t work haha...but i can receive photos j dub sent me one. I´ll try to mail you some but i don´t know how well the mail works yet. We´ll see. I don´t know our address yet. In fact i´m not sure if we have one haha the dirrections around here are really tough.

Our church is sweet! We´ve got some really awesome members and we get fed a lot so we don´t have to buy that much food. They have gatoade here too which is sooooo good on the hot days. It hasn´t really rained during the day here but pretty much every night it does. I´ve really got nothing to complain about here i love it! It´s way hard and the language is frustrating, but i know it will come fast. I can already understand a lot thanks to the Gift of Tongues. But everything will work out here i´m not worried about it. Our goal is two baptisms this month...so we´re going to have to work really hard to get it. I hope Hermana Nohely will be! She has four amazing kids! Her family is amazing....i pray for her constantly

My tooth´s doin fine i think we´ll drive in to David or Panama to get the stitches out next week but we´ll see. Bueno, i think that´s all. Hasta luego fam!

Con amor,
Elder Tanner

ps the kids think my name is funny haha it´s awesome