Santiago week… Can't remember how long I've been here but it's been a while

My amazing family,

There isn´t much to say on account of me having written you like two days ago but here's the good good on this week-

We woke up at 1 in the morning on Thursday to go to David for the training with Elder Duncan.  The bus ride to David is about 4 hours on roads that remind me of Costa Rica before the nice new highway so I didn't get to sleep very much.  The training was intense and we all came out with a huge list of things that we need to be doing in our areas.  It´s interesting because Elder Duncan touched on a few different things that were rules in California that weren't rules here. Made me grateful for my start in the Redlands Mission because I am already used to following those rules.  One of the things that he talked about was that we have the right to recieve revelation for our areas and to see the vision of what our areas, branches, and investigators can become if we ask for it.  While he was talking I had the thought that the future stake president of Santiago is walking past us in the streets or sitting next to us in the bus so now I have this new goal where I am going to baptize a future stake president.  Pray for me please!  Then we ate some pizza for dinner and got on the 4 hour bus ride back to Santiago and we actually got to see where we were driving and guys, Panama is so freaking beautiful.  also guys, if you put 20 latinos on a bus they will sing hymns really loud for 3 straight, just a heads up...dont fight it, just sing along even if you don't know the words. 

Our miracle for this week was a good one-  We had been encouraged to improve our weekly planning so on friday we had an awesome planning session but we were having trouble figuring out how to get a lesson with our investigator Hermano J and a member his same age because the member is always working and Hermano J has school.  We prayed about it and we just couldnt see how it would work.  Then at English class that night no one came except Hermano J and we were going to tell him to just go home but we thought well we might as well teach him a little bit of English and maybe have a lesson.  We had just finished the song and prayer when the member (who had never come to English class before) walks in!  It was just the two of them in class and we had a super fun class teaching them English phrases (pretty much all the ones I taught Ava) and then we had a bomb lesson and the spirit was so strong! 

Also I found a dog that looks just like wilbur and that made me happy.  oh and we...I...killed a super big cockaroach (in Hermana Patrick's Texas accent) with some raid.  

Have an awesome week!!

Love,

Hermana Smith