First area: Cartagena!

Today was supposed to be the day we received the exciting first letter from Elder Kenison from Chile! Unfortunately, we suffered from some "technical difficulties." We believe that Matt sent an email, but unfortunately, he was replying to a message from us with a bad "reply-to" address and the message was sent to a non-existent mailbox. ARGH! We hope it gets recovered eventually, maybe next Monday.

We know he was online. We received a separate email which he wrote, to be delivered to some of his friends (guys) telling of his experiences so far and encouraging them to serve missions. It was a wonderful letter, full of encouragement and love for the work. We were so proud of him as we read it!

Meanwhile, we dropped a short note to his mission president, just to find out where he is serving and make sure "all is well." President Jones responded this evening, letting us know that Matt is doing great and has been assigned to serve in the coastal city of Cartagena (see map of the mission to the right — click to enlarge) with Elder Mecham as a companion. This was wonderful to hear! We have prayed for a wonderful first companion to help him continue to learn Spanish, and to help build on his enthusiasm for missionary work. We think an English-speaker will be great at first, to help with the transition, but then hope for a native speaker soon.

President Jones also mentioned that Matt will be returning to Santiago tomorrow for a "special zone conference in the temple." That will be exciting for Matt; he has really grown to love the temple while he was at the MTC, and will be thrilled to experience the Santiago temple! What a great way to start off his experience in Chile! Google maps says it's a little over two hours to drive from Cartagena to Santiago; a bus ride will probably be slower.

President Jones concluded his letter, "Thanks for the gift of your son in the mission!!" We already love this man, and pray for him along with Matt.