Hello Familia!
Sooo this week, we have been finding, teaching, and inviting everyone to be baptized like you wouldn’t believe. It’s pretty easy because allll the youth and allll the kids want to be mormon, at first because their friends are mormon, also because everyone looooves the hermanas (us). Then we teach them and it’s super funny because everyone loves the Joseph Smith story. Also once we teach about the Book of Mormon, they reallly want to be baptized because there are so many things in the Cuna Culture that has so many evidences that the BOM is true. For example, all Cunas believe that a man ´Ibbi Orgu´ came here and taught all about God and temples and the stuff we do inside. That’s the name they have for him, so we just teach them that he is also ´bab massi´ or Jesus Christ, and that our Savior came here as well.
The problem we have been having is getting the parents to permit their children to be baptized. But we have got some crazy plans. We have visited all the parents, and they all love us, so we are going to try to get permission to baptize all the kids this Saturday! We are going to baptize all the parents after, because they still haven’t come to church.
Oh funny story about church. This week our President left to Panama, so he left us the keys and his notebook (we are kinda like his counselors haha). and because this week was Childrens week, and the Catholic Church invited our church to do tons of activities, President had changed to church to 2:00. BUT the real second counselor wanted it to be at 9, we told him no because nobody would come, but he was very certain about it. So we thought, whatever 9:00 is fine, but Pres had already told everyone at 2. But just whatever. BUT because we had the keys to the church in the morning, he got mad and didn’t show up to church. Cunas. So we were all waiting there with the two boys who were going to bless the santa cena, and a couple other members. Like nobody showed up, just like we thought, because of all the activities at the Catholic Church. Because he never showed up, we couldn’t start church because we didn’t have an Elder. SOooooo we told 4 people there, we were going to find and Elder and have church at 2 like we had planned. Then we found out that the 2nd counselor was telling everybody we wouldn't be having church that day, because he was mad at us, so we had to go and tell everyone we would have church. Then we found out we didn’t actually need an Elder haha, cuz D&C says if there isn’t an elder present, the sacerdocio menor can dirigir (Google translate = Minor priest can direct? Sounds like a priest can preside?). Soooooo then we did everything by ourselves and got church ready by 2. At 2, we blew the conch shell, and we had more than 30 people come, lots of investigators and it was great! Wow, that was a longer story than I thought. Just an example of some of the craziness that happens out here haha.
So to end, I love San Blas and my Island and I loioii0oooveevveee being a missionary!
Love you all!
Hna Hallsted
Answers to Mom’s questions:
Where are you writing from? The church on YOUR island? Or another island?
We are on a different Island. Everyone in our district is here right now on the Island of the Zona leaderes, called PLAYON CHICO. We are here for a district meeting, we only get one every change, and its always on Monday, so no pday today. And actually almost the whole zone is here because of the chicha fuerte which means they are allowed to drink (getting drunk is prohibited and only allowed on special days and everyone goes crazy). We’ll be going back to our island tomorrow though!
How many of the inhabited islands have missionaries on them?
Every missionary companionship has their own island, some have two or three islands. I think we are going to be opening up another island called Tigre soon. I would say around 10 islands have missionaries on them. It changes basically every day haha, because the chiefs keep kicking out missionaries and then accepting them again and so missionaries are coming and going. This week two elders went back to the city because they closed down their island, but two others opened up another island. Oh also another interesting fact is that we are the only hermanas in the whole Zone! How cool??!
So you've spelled Ticantiqui/Ti Cantiki/Tikantiki many different ways. What's the real way?
I’ve asked and nobody really is sure. Nobody can spell, so they just put basically what they feel like
(Google shows both but more often Ticantiki)
Also, is there no light on the island or what? Solar light or solar power?
No light, so my solar lamp is serving me soooooo well! Everybody wants it haha
How are you staying out of the sun?
I have my umbrella and wear a baseball cap! And sunglasses
Are we going to be able to see photos soon? Can you see photos we send?
I can receive photos, but to send is harder
is there an actual church building? Do you email from there?
The church building is pretty much destroyed, so they are coming in and making a new one!!
there is exactly one computer here with terrible internet. WE HAVE INTERNET on our island only saturdays and sundays, but our church is one of the only places that has power, so thats why its hard to write because the internet is suuuuper slow on Mondays. They might actually change Pday for us and we might write on Sundays instead, but we'll see!
Are there any other people living on the island except the indians?
nope, only cunas
So the toilet over the ocean...
Yup, its supér funny cuz when you poop you can watch all the little fishies come up and eat your poop
Did Hermana Canedo get called there too or was she already there and had just come to pick you up at the mission home?
Hna cAnedo was already there, she had one change there and now we’re together again!
Do any of the San Blas Islands have modern things or city life or are they all like yours?
No city at all haha. Just bamboo made stick huts, but our house is actually made of concrete, it’s super fancy for san blas!
When you say “we go to the city”, is that Panama City?
city is just panama and if i say panama that means panama city. Idk why, but that’s how everyone says it here!
When you go to another island, is that by the same boat as before? Do you have your own boat or do you pay for it or who takes you?
OOOh normally we go in the little speed boats called PANGAS, but ours left us cuz we were late, so we hopped on the ship (and this one is like a real ship ship) of some Colombianos who were going the same way haha. I think we might be some of the first missionaries to do that!
do you have to pay them??
normally yeah, but the colombianos loooved us haha! So they even made us food and gave chairs to sleep in (we were there for a couple hours) and so they didn’t make us pay either! So nice! Everybody looves the hermanas hahaha
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