el 29 de Junio

welcome to the land of the catholics!

this week was one of the easier changes in my misson; the
change from loma linda to pancasan, however, was not as 
easy. tuesday afternoon was full of goodbyes, and hurrying 
to run from one end of town to the other to say goodbye to 
members, converts, and still try and fit in the things that we 
have to do normally. the hardest goodbyes were with elizabeth, 
andy and emily. i made emily a little missionary plaque so that 
she can remember to always help bring her less active parents 
to church. to prepare one day to be a missionary when she will 
have to walk a lot further to bring a whole lot more people to 
church. 

so this is hermana martinez, my new companion! 
(note from Mom: the picture didn't load)

she is only a few months older than me (better than my other 
companions, who were 24 and 22, respectively) and is from San 
Salvador, El Salvador. for those of you who don't know where 
that is, you're with me. i have long ago forgotten my mental map 
of central america that i memorized in high school spanish class. 
hermana martinez was actually the mtc companion of hermana 

gomez, which makes her the third of about 6 sisters from that 
group that i have been companions with... what a treat!

​this is about how all of the main streets are here in granada...
house, house, house, huge catholic church, rich house, house, 
house, huge rich house. the more neighborhood like roads, 
are still rather rich, although they are a little bit more humble. 
i miss my loma linda houses of metal. the opportunity to 
change places and learn a new set of tricks is something that i 
was almost anticipating, but actually being here was almost a 
dream for the first couple of nights. but here we are! a new set 
of friends, and a whole new set of challenges. the streets here are 
flat (hallelujah!) and so, my long lost friends, the calluses, are back 
in full force. thanks to an early birthday present, i have some saving 
graces, but here's to high hopes that they heal faster than last time.

a great scripture for this week... let's go with mark 2:17
::When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have 
no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.:: the lord came to help us 
all, because all of us in one form or another are that sick and 
afflicted. the sinners are the ones invited to come unto him, and 
follow him. the righteous will have their reward.

some new foods this week include beet lemonade. it was very
interesting, and something that i haven't quite made up my mind 
about yet.... a work in progress.

this week has been a whirlwind of new experiences, a tiny little church
building, like the stereotypical central american church building (fans 
attached to the walls to provide some reprieve from the heat, an 
electric piano, and only about four classrooms in total). a new branch 
president, who is very ready and willing to retain the new members of 
the church. we are working right now on our SIMY (i don't know what it 
stands for, i just know that it's the converts of the last 18 months who 
came to church), because it's seriously lacking... here we go to work!

hermana graves