Hermana Scott's Last Week in Las Tablas and Her First Week in Colon, Panama!

(This was her letter from last week)

Hey family!

Well...guess what?! I have changes this week! I am leaving my mission birthplace. I don´t know where I am going or who my next companion is, but I am anxious! I am really sad to leave Las Tablas...it’s such a beautiful part of the world, and thinking about leaving it rips my heart...I hope I can come back someday. I have learned so much here. I am so grateful for each experience that I have had here. I have learned about a different way of life. I have gained experience with people around me who truly are happy, and most people here live with very little. I have come to prefer a hammock over a bed. To 98 percent of the time, not wanting air conditioning. To learning to just relax. These people are beautiful, but I think that I am simply learning to see the beauty in others...I am learning to truly see the good in every person I meet...and through this, my capacity to love is growing by the day!

How is the scripture challenge going by the way? ;) Reading The Book of Mormon at this pace is actually really exciting...I am loving learning more and more about the lives of those within the pages...in reality, it’s a book of adventure, peace, love, revelation, obedience, and a number of other things-basically, there is something for everyone!

Also, can you believe it? In a few weeks, I will have hit six months. One third of my mission. It just doesn´t make sense. I wish I could lose track, but our six week agendas unfortunately keep me pretty up to date. By this time next year, I will be almost done. YIKES. Anyway, enough about that. For now, I am enjoying a spiritual journey in a Panamanian summer. It’s definitely hilarious at times too. For example, I have a nickname among us here in Las Tablas. You know that Scott toilet paper exists right? Well, my nickname here is Hermana Papel-del-baño...Hermana Paper-of-the-bathroom. It’s got a ring to it, huh?

Well, I should get going...I sadly have some goodbyes to deliver! Next time you hear from me, I will be in a different part of Panama. I am nervous, but ready for the challenge!

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Alma 26:12

Love you all!!

Hna. Scott

A running joke about a house with four Hermana's always running out of toilet paper!

  She looks sooo happy in this picture!  One of my favorites!

Part of her branch family.

 Having a little fun on P-day!

(This week.  Some Spanglish going on here! I also have to clean up her English which is hilarious!  She's never had a problem with it!)

Hey guys! Super quick email today!

I am in Colon! I am about an hour from the city! It’s really different here, but I am LOVING IT! First of all, we are in a stake, and our WARD meets in the stake center which is super close for us! I am in Puerto Pilon, and my companion´s name is Hna. Gonzales. She has 13 months in the mission, so she is almost done, how crazy is that? I am almost a third done, and that scares me! Elder Frias, who is my dad in the mission, is my zone leader again! This is his last change...and Hna. HOLLAND is in my zone again, I am thrilled. It’s such a weird thing, leaving your first area. I feel like I have grown up a lot in the past week. I have realized that I am comfortable with Spanish. WHAT?! Yeah, I can comfortably communicate. I don´t know everything of course, but I can get around a conversation pretty well.

Oh, I guess mom was talking about a picture of me or something on the mission president´s wife´s blog. I was called (on the phone, not called as in a calling, jaja) to choose and direct the music at the meeting of changes last week. Crazy nerve wracking, but it was super fun.

Also, quick thing. I was studying about the...uh...estandarte de libertad in Alma? I can´t remember how to say that in English...but I heard someone talking about it in Sacrament Meeting yesterday, and we ended up putting together a cool noche de hogar with it. It’s in Alma 46. Look it up and read about it! We talked about making your own estandarte para su familia. Pretty great right?

Oh, another noticia. I get to go to the temple on the 11th, and possibly this Saturday!!! Its been 4 and a half months. I cannot wait. There is something to be said about going to the temple. Whether you are within the walls, or walking on the grounds, there is such a sense of peace. You can feel the Spirit of the Lord so strongly, you can feel His presence, and the eternal perspective is much clearer when you can literally see in the shape of a beautiful house of God goals for having eternal life. Take every opportunity you can to go, and if you aren´t a member, ask about it! Visit the grounds, take a breather in a sanctuary of pure peace and clarity. Some of my best life changing moments have just been walking around the grounds of the temple with my journal in hand.

I am sure I will have more specific things to shout at ya in the following week...but until then. Stay warm!! ;)

Hna. Scott

During changes, with Elder Wright and Hna. Maldonado! These guys used to be with me in Chitre. Gotta love ém.

This is my cousin, Elder Scott. (Not really...although they could be because they actually look alike haha!)  His sister´s name is my first name, and we have the name middle initial. Guess what state he is from? NOT Arkansas. Jehjehjeh. 

                                                                        

Pday! This is what I am currrently wearing. I´m stylin´...not sure what´s going on with the hair. Panama. Tsk. My companion is sitting behind me. Oh yeah, she is from Guatemala too. I think I am headed to that beautiful country at some point in my life. Hna. Holland is sitting next to me!!!

Hermana Scott's Visit to the Beach and Her Strong, Sincere and Amazing Testimony of the Book of Mormon and Challenge to Read it...Re-read It - Week of 1/13/14

Well, time really flies by, doesn't it? Here we are, almost to the end of changes again (a change is six weeks) and I can´t believe how fast it goes by. Does time go by this fast in normal life? I don´t remember it being like that.

So this week, I have to share how grateful I am for the Book of Mormon. We received a challenge to read it, in our mission, to read it from the last book to the first, in the mission language, or English, if your native language is Spanish. I don´t understand everything, obviously, but the first week has been such a blessed adventure. I can feel the power of our Savior and Heavenly Father within the pages. Right before I left for my mission, I decided I wanted to read the book with the desire to feel those people within the pages were real...because they are. I wanted to read it, knowing they were real. Now, when I read, I feel like I´m reading a friend´s journal entry, and I feel invested in the lives of them and those around them. Now that I am only reading it in Spanish, the Holy Ghost is finding it easier to lead me to words and phrases that I need for myself, and those we are teaching. Sometimes, I literally see a brighter part of the page, with a phrase that I can better understand than other parts of the page. Every time I open up this book, I find something new that benefits my soul, and my testimony of Jesus Christ and our loving Heavenly Father. Many times, when my companion and I come together to study, we find that we came to discover similar things...and to me, that is a manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost if we heed to his promptings.

"I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him.." (1 Nephi 10:17)

It's in these moments when I truly feel my brain is more open to receiving information, that I am able to use more of it than normal. I feel light, and feel more confident than in any other moment. Its in these moments when I feel the love of Christ, and feel the truth of the of the words of those, in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, often put their lives in peril in order to persevere important and sacred information for us to read and learn from today.

 “When you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.” -Joseph Smith Jr.

I know that its possible for anyone to receive comfort, knowledge, and specific blessings from reading the scriptures, the testaments of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I encourage every one of you to open up this book, and read it with the desire to feel the love that our Heavenly Father and Savior have for you. I know that as long as I have faith, strive to learn more every day, and constantly strive to become more like my Savior, I will feel an abundance of love, and have a clearer direction and path of where I need to go in my life. I have no doubt that The Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, is sacred scripture, that each person mentioned within once walked on this earth, and that each individual who reads it can and will receive personal revelation if they do so with faith and prayer.

I am so grateful for this book, for its role in my life, and for my opportunity to study it and share its blessings with those around me.

Read it. Read it again. Study it. Look for meaning for your life specifically within the pages. I promise you will find comfort within.  

Love, Hermana Scott

My name tag in the tide.

It’s like the beach from The Little Mermaid!

Dos mil polleras! There was a huge, countrywide parade of Panama typical dress. The dresses are called polleras.

An awesome little girl!!

With some members of our branch, Joni and                                                                                                  Emerita! Emerita just got back from her mission                                               about a month ago.

Pre-Christmas, Christmas, and the Beginning of a New Year in Panama! Mom (me) got behind over Christmas, so here are Hermana Scott's weeks of 12-23-13, 12-30-13 and 1-6-14

*** From Jessica's Mom.  She was diligent and wrote every week during Christmas.  This mom got pretty busy and wasn't available to update her blog.  So...I combined her adventures in order.  She's doing amazing...and having the time of her life.  Thank you for your continued love, prayers and support as she serves Jesus Christ the people of Panama.

Hermana Scott:  Week of 12/23/13:

Okay, so sorry I didn't have much time to write this week...but I hope you all have an amazing Christmas. Remember the reason for the season, and try to find small ways to serve others. I promise that as you strive to do this, which in turn helps you be more like the Savior, you can feel happier and see more clearly the path ahead of you. I love you guys so much!

Feliz Navidad!

See some of you in TWO DAYS!!

Christmas Pictures: Okay, first one. We had a Christmas party with many of the missionaries in the mission in David! Here I am with some awesome people, including my first comp, my mom. 

Second, with my new comp, Hna. Rondon! 

So of course life is hectic right about now, because its Christmas!! I get to talk to some of you guys the day after TOMORROW! What is this magically awesome thing! I am going to send pictures, and write a bit, so I can send you something, jaja.

This first picture is with Elder Techiert, one of the elders in the zone, on a zone p-day. He is a pretty cool missionary from Wyoming! Also, one of the best friends, Hermana Hanson, is behind me, not knowing a picture is being taken.

The next one is us about to eat pupusas! These things are amazing...I am baffled as to why this was the first time I have had one. They are something from El Salvador. By the way, Hna. Bond, the other blonde in this picture, is one of our hermana leaders...she is awesome! She has lived in, and gone to school in Tulsa, Oklahoma...and she loves that part of the US. So we get along pretty well, jaja.

A picture of the glorious comida we consumed.

Week of 12/23/13:  Hey guys! Hope you all had fantastic wintery Christmases! I am still listening to Christmas music...the season isn´t quite over yet. ;) But for real, how is it possible that we are almost in 2014? Life moves by so fast...can you believe that I have been out for almost 5 months? I definitely can´t! I have been so grateful for every moment. Although not every moment is perfect, and sometimes its pretty hard...its all worth it. I am so grateful for everything that I am learning. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn how the Holy Ghost communicates with me, so that I am able to closely abide his guidance throughout my life.

I have something that I want to share with you guys that I wrote down yesterday.

We all face trials in our lives. We will all have times in our lives that will make us fall. When this happens, fall on your kness. Talk with your Heavenly Father, who is always waiting to listen, waiting to help you. Rely on Him. Rely on the Savior. Listen for the promptings of the Spirit. If you feel you´re lacking faith, pray to have your faith strengthened. Asking shows that you do have faith. Its okay to ask for help. That´s why we have the beautiful opportunity to pray. I know that if you pray, with a desire to recieve help, and do your part, you will recieve help, and more importantly, you will instantly feel peace. Your path ahead of you will be filled with more light, less fog. Life will begin to feel more like an adventurous opportunity rather than a problematic obligation. I know that when we rely on our Savior, we can feel a sense of purpose on this earth. We can see ways that He is in our lives. We can recognize the blessings we recieve in every moment of every day. Its easier to be happy. Its really easy to start feeling this way. All we need to do is call on our Heavenly Father, talk to Him about our day, and ask for guidance, for comfort. A few words in faith will lift you up, relieve you of burdens, leave you with a renewed sense of energy and motivation. All we have to do is exercise a little faith. This little seed of faith will grow.We only need to give it a chance to do so.

Well guys, I am running out of time again. I´ll try to attach some pictures. I love you all. I love this work. I know that we have a living Savior. I know that He and our Father in Heaven love us, and only want the best for us. If we seek for Their help, I know we will recieve it.

Have a great week! See you in 2014!!

Hna. Scott

Week of 1/6/14:  Hey guys! We are approaching summer here in Panama, how is the weather back at home? Its so weird to think about...I haven´t worn long sleeves in five months. Speaking of which...I am 5 months old in the mission today!! Time goes by so fast...I almost have half a year. I have a lot to learn and a lot to do yet. :)

So this week was definitely a week for me to reflect on goals. Seeing as how its the beginning of the year, goal setting tends to be in regular conversation. Once a month, we have a meeting in our zones specifically for the hermanas. One of the things we discussed in this meeting was about setting spiritual goals. More specifically, Christ-like goals. We each chose one Christ-like attribute that we would like to work on and obtain throughout the year. I really enjoyed doing this, because it makes me feel more accountable for giving consistent effort to become better. I ended up choosing two, but one that I plan on focusing in is Diligence. I have realized that oftentimes, it is hard to follow through with things, especially when times are more frustrating. Its really easy to give up...and if we give up, we miss out on a lot of opportunity, and blessings that Heavenly Father is ready to pour upon us. I know that I am happier when I have something to look forward to...and who isn´t? Why not strive to make every day feel like the Chirstmas Eve? If we set goals, make plans, one little step to accomplish them, we can always have something, whether tangible or spiritual, to look forward to. When we are putting in our effort, the Lord is right there, helping us the rest of the way. One of the awesome things about this life is that we are here to learn...and why not max out every chance that we can to learn more? Put your best foot forward, make an effort to reach toward something you want, and I promise, you will feel happier, and a stronger motivation to work hard.

Among other great attributes of Christ are things such as patience, love, charity, humility. As we more strongly ahere to these attributes and more, we can more clearly recognize the love of our Savior. We can share this love with others, and truly feel peace and happiness in our lives. I am so grateful for the experience that I am having in my life in growing closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and I know that it is possible, and available to every person. All we need to do is have a desire, take a step forward.

One cool thing before I go; there is a little piece of heaven in Panama, called Tonosi. Honestly, while walking through this place, if you took out the palm trees and some fruit, we could´ve been in Arkansas. It was really cool. We went there with a family from our branch to visit some of their family members there. Its about an hour and a half away from Las Tablas, with crazy windy roads that made others sick, but made me feel like I was going to Mount Magazine. Honestly, pretty sure if Dad came and saw it there, he wouldn´t leave. It really is peaceful place.

Well, I need to get going. Know that I love you all...Have an amazing week!

See you all next week!!

Hna. Scott

1.This pretty cool cliff that we as missionaries couldn´t go jumping off of. Still, I could stand there barefoot. ;)

2. Look at everything behind me! This is the front porch view of this family´s cabin. Its beautiful...and the river in the background? That´s their driveway.

3. I ate this whole thing! Did it taste great? You bet

 Happy birthday, my favorite 10 year old in the WORLD. Enjoy your bike...every missionary here in Panama is a bit envious, I am sure.

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