New area, new companion...same me :)

Hola mi querida familia,

I´m writing to you all from my new area as of today, Chorrera. I got the call last night that I was being transferred (actually came as a bit of a surprise) and now I have a companion from Nicaragua, Hna. Chevez. She´s...she´s going to teach me a lot :). My goal for the end of this day is to get her to crack a smile. She was actually Hna. Kennedy´s trainer (my friend from the mtc). I hear she´s a great teacher, so I´m sure I´ll learn a lot. And my Spanish should be pretty much pro at the end of these 6 weeks, so hey, lots to look forward too!

Oh man, this past week, my last week in Arraijan, was pretty neat. Since we completed our goal as a zone for April, we got to go to the temple! Ahh!!! That was one of the most beautiful, awesome experiences of the mission so far. I know I keep teasing you with promises of these pictures I´ve supposedly taken, but I promise you will all eventually get to see for yourselves how pretty this place is. I´ve decided I love the temple more than I even realized. There was a senior couple from Utah serving in there and the sister was so sweet. She´s like 70 years old and she was doing her best to speak Spanish with her cute little old woman smile...I found it pretty inspiring. It makes me want to work all the harder at mastering this language.

If I had more time I´d tell you all about our Jehovah´s Witness friend who gave my companion her hat, our many Evangelical encounters, the service project at Heriberto´s house (the Panamanian Morgan Freeman--pretty sure I´ve mentioned him before) and the awesome last Sunday we had--8 INVESTIGATORS showed up! It was pretty phenomenal. And of course I get moved out of the area...ah well. Such is the life. The souls in Chorrera are just as precious, right?

So I´m still a little shell-shocked trying to adjust to the new area, the new comp and pretty much everything else, but I promise you my spirits are high and I´m looking forward to seeing what the Lord´s got in store for me for the next 6 weeks. But keep the prayers comin´...just in case :).

Happy Birthday to Katie yesterday, Happy blessing of little Taylor Lynne Demcak and Happy Kristina´s wedding this week! Keep sending those photos and I promise one day I will return the favor. (I am a missionary and I cannot lie.)

love you all and looking forward to chatting with you on Mom´s Day!

love,

Al