HAPPY B-DAY LITTLE BRO!!!
Wow this week was pretty nuts!
During Cosechas on Monday we went to a house close to where we live and rocks just started falling from the sky. After about 20 seconds we realized that they were coming from the house. They were literally throwing rocks at us! Pretty much everyone in Loma Coba lays in their hammock playing free fire and eating mangos. Pretty lazy. Oh, and deodorant costs like 7 bucks here. Maybe this is why they just sit around. Loco.
Tuesday I woke up at 4am with a stomachache and migraine. I threw up like 5 minutes later. Of course, it was all rice and chicken. Now that I think of it, I did eat chicken neck earlier, which was actually not too bad at that moment.
On Tuesday, it was pouring rain so hard. We just got wet. I had polished my boots the day before and still was soaked to the bone. It was like I had just jumped into a pool with Sunday clothes on.
Well, my suit has been hanging from the ceiling for 4 months. So, I gave it to a member but kept the pants. There is really no need for a suit coat anyway.
Wednesday one of our investigators lives off what he steals from a Chino (little corner store run by Chinese). He also smokes marijuana like crazy. But, he said that he wants to change his life around and be baptized. It’s going to take a while.
Edwin, an active member really opened up with the missionaries and told us that he’s gay. Never would of guessed. He’s a super cool dude. He wants to serve a mission!
On a special note, a Church member made me a personalized “Elder Doxey” mola for $3. It took her a lot of time. I was happy to give her $3 for it, and she was grateful.
On Thursday, WE FINALLY MOVED OUT OF THAT TEENY PINK BEDROOM we were renting!! Thursday was crazy! A friend said that he would help us move a few big things to the new house. He said it would cost us $5. He really didn’t help us that much, but at the end of it all he wanted $30!! So, we have like no money now. I was not happy.
The way money works in the mission is different, and Panamanians’ expectations with how it works in are even more different. I went to a Chino and tried to buy a 25 cent Coca Cola. All I had was a $20. You would think the guy in the Chino would allow me to pay the 25 cents and give me $19.75 in change.
I learned Chino stores don’t carry that kind of $$ in their till, and everyone normally pays in exact change. That $20 was a huge amount for him to look at. It was as if was paying with a $500 bill. I will never forget it. This Chino guy tells me in Spanish/broken English (with a Chinese accent), “Esta loco!..es un quata!” (You’re crazy! It’s a quarter!). The big security guard with the massive shotgun (who we have taught before) ended up breaking the $20 for us. Nice guy. He commutes here (2 hours) from Panama City for this job.
On Friday this dog started chasing a taxi. After he didn’t catch it and it drove away it charged at me! It was a pretty big dog. I was slowly backing up, never losing eye contact with him, looking for a rock to pick up. As I was doing this, I backed into a hill, slipped on the muddy hill, and fell. The dog got really close to me at that point, so close that out of instinct I smacked it in the face really hard. This didn’t do anything to stop him, and he kept coming at me. He was now 3 inches away. I finally found a rock, picked it up a rock and he ran away. CHUSO! Crazy times in Loma Coba!
Today, I also got transferred! Last night I learned I would be transferred today. I had to wake up at 3 am to catch a bus that would take me to my new area.
My new area is called La Cabima, in the San Miguelito Zone. It’s a big ward. We live across the street from the chapel. I have been here two hours. It is very close to Panama City, basically a suburb of the city, and in the second largest district in Panama (375K people). It’s pretty dangerous but not crazy dangerous compared to other areas. My companion’s name is Elder LaFuente from Bolivia. He has 4 months in the mission like me. So were both pretty new. We live in a very large place – it is like 5x bigger than that little pink room we lived in, has 4 rooms, a study area, etc.
Over all this week was pretty tiring, mentally and physically. I’m exited for what’s next!
Elder Doxey
NOTES FROM OUR GOOGLE HANGOUTS CALL:
Description of La Cabima, San Miguelito:
• Way fewer hills than Loma Coba. Way fewer trees, jungle-like areas.
• When it is a complete downpour, La Cambina will not have rivers of mud washing down dirt paths. I will not be hiking up huge mudslides to get to people’s homes.
• Lots of powerlines. Highly populated. People are probably more educated because they are all going to work instead of laying around all day. They’re not just living off of mangos and stuff they steal from the Chino stores. There are malls, taxis, “Diablos” (tricked out school buses), a metro rail system, people have air conditioning in some places (not our house or the church unfortunately).
• It’s a little saddening to leave your first area so quickly. Who knows if I will be able to return.
• I can totally picture Grandpa Call here in the streets, in his military uniform, talking to people, maybe riding a moto. Everytime I see old pictures of places here I think of Grandpa Call. This is literally what he saw and experienced. I can’t imagine how primitive this place must have been in the 1950s … especially the San Blas Islands. It’s crazy to think that he was the first white guy that was allowed to stay out there, in the chief’s hut.
Wow this week was pretty nuts!
During Cosechas on Monday we went to a house close to where we live and rocks just started falling from the sky. After about 20 seconds we realized that they were coming from the house. They were literally throwing rocks at us! Pretty much everyone in Loma Coba lays in their hammock playing free fire and eating mangos. Pretty lazy. Oh, and deodorant costs like 7 bucks here. Maybe this is why they just sit around. Loco.
Tuesday I woke up at 4am with a stomachache and migraine. I threw up like 5 minutes later. Of course, it was all rice and chicken. Now that I think of it, I did eat chicken neck earlier, which was actually not too bad at that moment.
On Tuesday, it was pouring rain so hard. We just got wet. I had polished my boots the day before and still was soaked to the bone. It was like I had just jumped into a pool with Sunday clothes on.
Well, my suit has been hanging from the ceiling for 4 months. So, I gave it to a member but kept the pants. There is really no need for a suit coat anyway.
Wednesday one of our investigators lives off what he steals from a Chino (little corner store run by Chinese). He also smokes marijuana like crazy. But, he said that he wants to change his life around and be baptized. It’s going to take a while.
 |
| Kuna Young Men from the Loma Coba Ward |
Edwin, an active member really opened up with the missionaries and told us that he’s gay. Never would of guessed. He’s a super cool dude. He wants to serve a mission!
On a special note, a Church member made me a personalized “Elder Doxey” mola for $3. It took her a lot of time. I was happy to give her $3 for it, and she was grateful.
 |
| Personalized Mola a Woman Made for Me in Loma Coba, $3 |
On Thursday, WE FINALLY MOVED OUT OF THAT TEENY PINK BEDROOM we were renting!! Thursday was crazy! A friend said that he would help us move a few big things to the new house. He said it would cost us $5. He really didn’t help us that much, but at the end of it all he wanted $30!! So, we have like no money now. I was not happy.
 |
| The Elders of Loma Coba |
I learned Chino stores don’t carry that kind of $$ in their till, and everyone normally pays in exact change. That $20 was a huge amount for him to look at. It was as if was paying with a $500 bill. I will never forget it. This Chino guy tells me in Spanish/broken English (with a Chinese accent), “Esta loco!..es un quata!” (You’re crazy! It’s a quarter!). The big security guard with the massive shotgun (who we have taught before) ended up breaking the $20 for us. Nice guy. He commutes here (2 hours) from Panama City for this job.
On Friday this dog started chasing a taxi. After he didn’t catch it and it drove away it charged at me! It was a pretty big dog. I was slowly backing up, never losing eye contact with him, looking for a rock to pick up. As I was doing this, I backed into a hill, slipped on the muddy hill, and fell. The dog got really close to me at that point, so close that out of instinct I smacked it in the face really hard. This didn’t do anything to stop him, and he kept coming at me. He was now 3 inches away. I finally found a rock, picked it up a rock and he ran away. CHUSO! Crazy times in Loma Coba!
Today, I also got transferred! Last night I learned I would be transferred today. I had to wake up at 3 am to catch a bus that would take me to my new area.
 |
| La Cabima, Courtesy of Google Images |
 |
| San Miguelito (Courtesy of Google Images) |
Elder Doxey
NOTES FROM OUR GOOGLE HANGOUTS CALL:
Description of La Cabima, San Miguelito:
• Way fewer hills than Loma Coba. Way fewer trees, jungle-like areas.
• When it is a complete downpour, La Cambina will not have rivers of mud washing down dirt paths. I will not be hiking up huge mudslides to get to people’s homes.
• Lots of powerlines. Highly populated. People are probably more educated because they are all going to work instead of laying around all day. They’re not just living off of mangos and stuff they steal from the Chino stores. There are malls, taxis, “Diablos” (tricked out school buses), a metro rail system, people have air conditioning in some places (not our house or the church unfortunately).
• It’s a little saddening to leave your first area so quickly. Who knows if I will be able to return.
• I can totally picture Grandpa Call here in the streets, in his military uniform, talking to people, maybe riding a moto. Everytime I see old pictures of places here I think of Grandpa Call. This is literally what he saw and experienced. I can’t imagine how primitive this place must have been in the 1950s … especially the San Blas Islands. It’s crazy to think that he was the first white guy that was allowed to stay out there, in the chief’s hut.
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