{I`m ReaLLy GraTEfuL foR aLL of YoU}

hEY!

So....sorry i didnt write monday...but i figured i would just be disobedient and write today!! Sweet huh?! haha no just kidding we changed pday to wednesday this week so we could go to the temple as a zone! It was so incredible. I loved it! so this week was awesome...the baptism of the familia estrada went really smooth and they are really excited about it. Our district president sang a song with his wife and fernando bore his testimony about his baptism! it was so awesome! The other day i looked at the calender to see what day it was and i thought thanksgiving had passed haha i forgot it was this week. time flies man. I feel like we`re still in october.

Funny story...the `mascot` of the mission is named `superstrong`. so he`s been going around visiting different zones in the mission and so the assistants came to our house and we woke up at 5 am to go do visits with superstrong. Elder Poli was superstrong. hahaha it was the funniest thing ever. He dressed up with a sweet costume and cape. We had a great time visiting the missionaries to see what they are doing in the mornings haha seriously the pictures and videos are hilarious and presidente ward is way into it!

I just wanted to share something a little different than an experience this week. We went on divisions with the assistants and Elder Rodriguez..one of the assitants...asked me how my mission has changed me. It is amazing when you step back for a minute and look. You realize that your whole perspective has changed...the way you see people and yourself. The importance you feel for being obedient so you can be happy, the neccessity to share the gospel with EVERYONE, and the blessings that you have received. I also realized the importance of being animated always on the mission. J Dub, you talked about the book mere christianity by cs lewis, this past week i thought of a quote from him about love. He said if you dont feel like you love someone, you have to treat them like you love them, and you will grow to love them. Those actions will turn into feelings. I feel like it`s the same with always being animated on the mission. When you act animated..you feel like you have more energy.

I`m really grateful for all of you. and for the mission. i`m grateful for the atonement. wow it`s so cool to see people receive the atonement. Today in the temple i felt such a comforting peace that is always in the temple. There were five people there from jamaica for the first time. And so they asked me to accompany one of them to help him out during the endowment. It was such an incredible experience. It was so great to see people making such a sacrifice to come here and make promises with god.

I loved it!

Mom...haven`t got the package. Lib, i loved the story about how you drew on your face in permanent marker! Classic! jessi...FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS!!! J dub...haha go to sleep. marsh man i hope high school is as awesome for you as it was for me. Enjoy it...don`t do anything that you`ll regret or that could slow down your preparation for a mission...cuz it comes fast. I love you bro you`re awesome. Hey dad...after j dub wrote me this week i could picture you in your `gasoline marinated` orange jacket hahaha blowin slow. feliz thanksgivingano a todos! Con mucho love,

Elder Henrie

ps we sang to everyone on the bus on the way to the temple! awesome!

{OnE oF The HarDeST MoMentS}

Fam!

I had one of the hardest moments on my mission this week. As we were teaching Fernando in the house of his girlfriend´s family...we found out that he had moved in there. We were worried about that situation as people can`t get baptized if they are leaving together...but the mission president told us that in this case it was ok. Anyway...we kept teaching him...had the interview, the district leader felt weird about it but he said he was alright to be baptized. And then me and Elder Poli couldn`t stop thinking about it the week of his baptism. So, two nights before his baptism, we went home and prayed...and we got an answer. He couldn`t be baptized. We both felt the same thing. It was super hard and i almost didn`t want to believe it but we kept asking and everytime i got the same answer...that he couldn`t be baptized. So the next night...the night before his baptism, we went over to his house. We started to explain to him that he needed to wait and he needed to move out to be baptized. We asked him how he felt and he just started sobbing. He felt horrible. And that made us feel horrible because we should have prayed about it earlier! Anyway he kept crying and we asked him why he wanted to be baptized...he told us that he wanted to be clean and be with the Lord. He has so much faith!

So a little while into the discussion he told stopped and stood up and went inside. We weren`t sure what he was doing but Elder Poli looked and me and asked if he moved out...if he could be baptized...well yeah... All of a sudden he comes out with a box full of stuff and sets it on the floor! He said he would move out that very night! So we called the assistants to ask permission to stay out later and help him move and then we went to look for a room in a members house...it was really stressful but he ended up calling us to tell us that he had found a place to stay. Sweet! I felt like he REALLY showed a desire to follow Chirst that night. We felt sooooooo much better and ready for his baptism. The next day a ton of people showed up! Elder Poli, Elder Stoddard and I sang Nearer My God to Thee...with some sweet harmony. The spirit was sooooo strong! And then i went to baptize him. He was kinda nervous so we went into the bathroom and said a prayer. As we walked into the water i felt really peaceful. I baptized him and right went he came out of the water he was sooo happy! He gave me a huge hug and would not let go! It was really the best baptism i`ve participated in in my whole mission! It was amazing!

And yesterday the familia Estrada had the interview and they are totally ready for this saturday! At 7 00 pm they`ll be baptized! I`m doing really good this week. This change has gone by really fast. We`re hoping to meet a really high goal in december but it`s not going to be possible without the members. I`m really excited for this month that`s comin up. President Ward said he would leave us together another change unless he received revelation that told him otherwise! Sweet!

I love you all the church is awesome!

Cuìdense!

Elder Henrie

{ I lOvE The peoPLe HeRe}

Hola!

Utes lost?! man what a bummer. But it doesn`t matter because i`m in Panama! hahaha Ok one of the best experiences in my mission happened this week. We went to visit the familia Estrada to set a baptismal date with them. We had already tried the day before but they felt like they needed to prepare more. So the next day we took Elder Stoddard (from CA) and Elder Monroy (from Mexico) to sing a hymn in their house and bear our testimonies. It was super powerful! Elder Stoddard shared about how he gained a testimony about the Book of Mormon and the spirit was incredibly strong! Then we committed them to be baptized the 20th of november and they still had some doubts. Elder Stoddard asked them if they had received an answer about that day, they said yes, and so he promised them the lord would help them in their family if they would be baptized. They ACCEPTED! Ohhh baby! We left the house and started running up the hill singing at the top of our lungs..haha really an awesome moment that i`ll never forget! I love that family! They are so amazing!

And Fernando is doing well...his parents are still against his baptism but his testimony of the book of mormon is super strong. I hope his parents come in from Colòn to see his baptism. this thursday at 7 00 he`ll be baptized. Pray that it will be a success!

We also had a cool kid at church today. His name is William..and his wife is Gissel. They are a really young couple and they have a little baby...William Junior. Gissel also had another child, but she died really young. I think they are both 20 or 21. We need to talk with them about marriage...but they are really receptive. William has changed a lot from his old life...he was in jail and he`s had lots of problems. Really cool family!

Even with all the success...i felt like it was a little tough this week. But every time i have an experience like we did with the familia estrada...i realize that it`s all worth it.

Oh...funny experience...i was on the stand waiting to give my testimony yesterday and one of the members (kinda less active) bore his testimony. He talked about how greatful he was for the `apostles` on the stand behind him...ooops. I looked at Elder Poli and i almost started cracking up. He`s a really good member though. haha just kind of a funny moment in church

i love you all! Panama is sweet! My area is beautiful and we are teaching really great people. I love the people here. I don`t know what i`d do without them :)

Mucho amor,

Elder Henrie

Mom!

That`s so awesome about your talk! I guess you learned to always be prepared. haha i remember my first day in Chorrera the speakers didn`t show up so the bishop asked me to talk...haha kinda winged it. Thanks for sending a package! I hope all is going well up there in Utah.. and i hope your cold! Last night it was slightly chilly because it was raining and i thought the panamanians were going to die of hypothermia hahaha

I`ll be looking forward to your talk! Love you mom!

Elder Henrie

{tHe miSsIOn is hARd. ReaLLy harD}

Well...

Interesting week. Kind of a frustrating sunday haha but things are going good. Saturday night was hilarious! We were at an activity in church when one of them members came in and said ´Elders come here!´ So we ran outside and saw a car chillin in the rain gutter (The rain gutters are huge here ps) and he was kinda drunk. So we were trying to pull him out for a while but we couldn`t get it. Finally, someone brought their truck and towed him out...Elder Poli was pushing and the wheels caught on the mud and he got nailed with mud! It was so funny. So we went back to the house real quick so he could change (it was about 8 pm) and went to an appointment that we had...they weren`t there so we went by the house to contact. As we were walking to the house around 9 15, elder poli asked me if i had the keys...uhhhhhhh. no. Turns out he left them in the taxi! haha luckily we had contacted the taxi driver and had found out that he was an inactive member that lived kind of by our house. We tracked down where he lived and found his friends drinking outside his house...they called him and he said he was on his way. Haha by on his way he meant ´I`ll be there in an hour or so´ haha anyway he showed up around 11 and we finally went home and went to bed. Interesting night for sure!

It was pretty sad talking to that guy who was drunk. You really realize that sin doesn`t make you happy. we`ve talked to a lot of people who are drunk and they always come up to us asking for help in that moment...telling us all their problems and how much they want to stop drinking and be close to God. And then we go by when they`re sober and they don`t want to listen. they really say how they truly feel in the hard moments

Fernando is doing awesome! His baptism is planned for the 11 of November at 7 30! We taught him again on sunday and he is solid! He`s going to invite his parents but they don`t really understand spanish...we`ll see what happens i really want to meet them. Fernando said he doesn`t speak mandarin, i can`t remember what type of chinese it is but i don`t think it was cantonese either. Are there a bunch of different dialects dad? i would assume so...

Those were some sweet photos of biking haha that trail got dominated eh?! And thanks for the sweet poster! How awesome! I`ll send you guys a good one of Elder Poli with his mud shirt haha that was a hilarious night!

Things are good here! The mission is hard. Really hard. haha but it`s such a good experience! I love seeing people really change. And i love how we don`t really do anything. We just tell them what we know....and if they ask God if it`s true they start to change themselves. I love the people that i have taught on my mission. I miss a lot of them. But i hear that they are doing well. The familia Salinas from Santiago is preparing to go to the temple this month to do baptisms! Sweet! Arnulfo Flores is struggling a bit with his testimony so i need to write him today. The family that we are teaching here...la familia Estrada...is doing well, but they didn`t come to church on Sunday. We`re going to try to set a baptismal date this week to see what happens!

I love you all the church is true!

Love,

Elder Henrie

{i'M TryinG to fiGuRe tHinGs out hEre}

Ok Familia!

What`s up?! This week has been rad. Thanks for all the emails...oh guess what we killed some more mice this week. Me and Elder Poli were both going at it with brooms and i finally nailed it! It kinda exploded haha

I have a sweet experience to tell you all...we were contacting near the church at night and this lady named Carmen came to the door. We didn`t present ourselves right off...but we just asked her if she new a family around there...people seem more receptive after they have helped you find someone haha. Anyway we started talking about the church and she said she already was in a church and really didn`t seem receptive...but instead of moving on we started asking her questions and found out that her brother had committed suicide about a month earlier. So we sang her a hymn on her front porch and started talking about the plan of salvation. It`s amazing how she changed from being so unreceptive at the beginning to so interested at the end. We left a good spirit there.

Oh and yesterday on the bus we were with the two elders from Caimitillo and i told the bus driver to turn off the music so we could share a message. We shared some of what we believe and sang a hymn for them...really awesome day

Also...we`ve been working super hard to find families. And we managed to bring one to church on sunday. la familia estrada! Sweet familiy. We`re going to try to set a baptismal date for november. They are such an awesome family. Yesterday we were talking to the husband...Juan Carlos...and he said he really likes the church and he has prayed about it and felt like he received his answer that it is true. His family has changed a lot and he has really been prepared by God for this moment. And his wife, Vielci, works the night shift. She got home sunday morning and then went to church with us. ANd their daughter, Genesis, is way awesome and she understands really well. Genesis is 10 and they also have a 1 year old boy named john marco. AWESOME family!

Alcalde Diaz has been struggling a lot these last couple months. There were no baptisms in september and one in october...but we are doing our best. I still feel like i`m trying to figure things out here. It`s an awesome area though. We have a lot of new missionaries in our zone...so we have three trainers. They are really good missionaries. I love it here. It`s really different from my other areas...

hey so i`m really excited to wear the new shirts this week now that i`m at a year...super glad that i saved them! This year has gone by really fast. I need to improve a lot of things this year. I feel like the mission has changed me a lot but there are still a lot of things i need to do. I read a talk about the difference between sacrifice and consecration...about how a lot of missionaries think of it as a sacrifice to come here when really the blessings that are received out weigh the sacrifice a million to one. It has definitely been a good year and i`ve got twelve more awesome months ahead!

The church is true...i`m about to finish the book of mormon this week...really a good book.

Love you all!

Elder Henrie

Mom!

Hello there! My teeth are good i think...my gums around the one that i had surgery are receeding a bit but....what can ya do? I`m eating as healthy as possible in panama. And i did lose some weight in Santiago...and there are SOOOOOO many gnarley hills in Alcalde Diaz....i don`t really have a solid six pack anymore but i`m not really that fat. Elder Poli tells me i`m fat all the time but he doesn`t even know.

That`s sweet that you`re going on a field trip! Can you believe it`s halloween already?! Too bad it`s not really celebrated here in Panama haha i guess while we`re contacting people we`ll ask them for candy haha

The gospel is changing lives here and it`s sweet! Love you mom take care!

Elder Henrie

[PrAy for PaNaMa!]

Oh family,

Hello! So Devan`s going to Taiwan?! That`s nuts! Tell him congratulations for me! Yeah it is sweet to be with Elder Poli again. This week went pretty well. We had a rough day saturday haha only all of our appointments fell haha. Dad...i`m jealous you got some good biking in...but i`ve got a lot of good walking in in our area...there are so many hills. My legs are super solid now! Fernando is doing good. His parents live in Colon. And they`re kind of opposed to his baptism. But he`s doing good...reading the book of mormon and praying and getting ready. The temple excursion sounded sweet! What an awesome surprise for your birthday j dub!

this week we had an interesting experience with some dogs. we were walking back to the house one night and there were about six or seven dogs hanging out in the street by our house...no biggie...they weren`t doing anything. So we passed through them without problems. And then, all of a sudden they started barking hard core at us. Luckily Elder Poli was in front of me and i was the one who was going to get eaten. So they all started coming in on me and I kicked one of them in the face! haha seriously i wasn`t about to get bit by a dog again. Did i tell you I got bit in Santiago? haha well i did! They really didn`t like it that i kicked there buddy...but i didn`t again because they wouldn`t leave me alone. Man i nailed that dog! Haha i felt kinda bad but i didn`t want to die. And then the owner came out and called them and we managed to get out of there...haha really intense experience! And then we got home and heard something moving around in the garbage bag...just a couple mice. So i got out the broom and started chasing them and smacking them. I managed to get one with the broom and i stepped on the other one! Hahaha it was kinda gross.

this week Elder Falabela from the seventy came to machete us and tell us to look for families! It was soooo awesome! He gave such a powerful message in zone conference and i think the mission is going to be able to reach the goal of 1000 baptisms in one year for the first time ever! Sweet! Our zone is struggling a bit. There were no baptisms last month and not a lot of baptismal dates this month. But we`re working hard and trying to get things moving! Pray for us so we can find a family to baptize! Pray for Panama!

well fam i love you! Keep on keepin` on!

Elder Henrie

i don`t know who took the other picture...kinda blurry but its Elder Falabela and his wife with our zone! Ofi!

elder Chevez and Elder Poli! Elder Chevez had a rough time with his comp after i left and they ended up having emergency changes...but hes doing good now! Two awesome comps right here!

Can`t even tell you how much fun this dart board is!

Uhhhhh...

I dont know what to tell you all about this week. Me and Elder Poli are companions! hahaha yes! Again! The assistant went off to the islands in San Blas to open a new area...Elder Poli`s comp, elder Cook, went up to assistant, and I took his place with Elder Poli haha really nuts. I had emergency changes on wednesday night and i`m now in Alcalde Diaz...in the area of La Cabima! Really a crazy week. I feel really inadequate to be a zone leader but i`ll do my best haha. I still feel like i wasn`t even ready to be a district leader.

Not gonna lie i kinda just skimmed through the letters and i printed them off to read later because i have a lot to write. I`m elder Poli`s comp...hahaha!!! I feel like i`m back with my brother after six months of not being with him! Dang it`s sweet....we`ve already seen lots of miracles.

Here`s a few..

My first day we gave a blessing to a member who fed us lunch. She`s having liver problems and she`s pretty sick. I annointed her and when elder poli said `we seal this annointing` i honestly felt the power of the priesthood in that moment. I felt like God was working through us to seal what we had done. It was an incredible experience.

Later we went to a young girl`s house with her boyfriend. The boyfriend, Dario, and the young girl Angie, are both members and they`re living together. they`re both 18 and having problems. We talked about repentance and the atonement and talked a little strong with them. Angie felt really bad and was crying and said she wanted to fix things. Afterwards we went and talked to her mom about the whole situation. It has been hard on her. But we left her mom`s house and there was angie outside the house waiting to talk to her mom. we really felt the power of the atonement. We still have some work to do with them. Moral of the story...be good in high school. What was taught in conference about how sin is always followed by tears is true.

Ok...and we found this kid named Fernando...his parents are from china and he`s the best investigator i`ve ever met! He`s already reading the book of mormon and has been to church a few times. He`s 19 and we taught him for the first time on Saturday. We put a baptismal date right then for the 30 of October and he accepted it! He started crying and gave us both a hug! Hahaha he`s such a stud. when he talks about how he feels when he reads the book of mormon...it makes me feel incredible! The gospel is true eh?

It`s been a sweet week full of miracles and lots of changes in the mission. I feel really weird. Kinda bummed that i wont see the baptisms in La Chorrera but that`s all good. Oh and we found a family yesterday! I think Elder Poli and I make a good team haha God`s blessing us a ton already!

I love you all have an incredible week! I think about you and pray for you every day!!

Con mucho amor

elder Henrie

Mom!!

Hey! Thanks for writing me...Tell mikelle and her mom hello for me! Christmas huh? i don`t know how it`s Christmas already. If you could maybe send me some new pants that would be sweet i think i`m a size 33 or 34 waist...and length i don`t know but my pants look stupid because they`re really faded.

Maybe for my comp...i really dont know...some ties??? haha no sè.

I love you mom thanks for everything!

Elder son