Happy 19th Birthday Jaden!!!
I spent the entire day missing and worrying about Jaden on his 19th birthday in another country with no family. I prayed over and over that he would not spend it alone, that he would be able to celebrate his birthday, and that he would be happy. That night, I was surprised to get the following email from a Mr. Shawn Rowland in Panama:
"We had the honor of having your son and the other elders over for dinner tonight. During dinner we found out that it is your son's birthday. Since we are always looking for an excuse to celebrate, we quickly found a birthday cake and wished him a feliz cumpleaños."
They just happened to see the elders on the street and felt impressed to invite them into their home for dinner. Members are encouraged to feed the missionaries; however, the Rowland family are not members of the church. They are simply very kind people that are receptive to the spirit, for they were certainly an answer to my prayers.
- Jessica Hawes (Jaden's mom)
2/29/2016: Excerpts from Jaden's weekly email
"I forgot to mention though that I did have a good birthday though. I received two birthday cakes. One was from the Trejos family (member family that cook for us 4 times a week).... "
"....and the other was from some random Americans we found. We were walking one day and this van pulls over. It was an American that invited all the missionaries to his house. His sister is a member and he just likes helping missionaries. Him and his family were cool but not interested in the church. Anyways..we had dinner with them. He found out it was my birthday and bought us all a cake. It was pretty great. Hes living in Panama for his family to learn Spanish,"
"This picture is me with Hermana Trejos. She is awesome and buys all the missionaries that come through the area shirts"
- Elder Jaden Hawes
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